


The Times They Are A Changin'

by Bizarra



Series: The Times They Are A Changin' [2]
Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Additional Tags To Be Added As Needed, Aftermath of Violence, Angst, Endgame replacement, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Original Character(s), Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Past Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-22
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2019-08-27 20:45:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 50,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16709740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bizarra/pseuds/Bizarra
Summary: Fifteen years after Voyager's return from the Delta Quadrant, Chakotay is certain the timeline is incorrect. He's determined to find a way to go back in time to fix what he thinks is wrong and hopefully get Voyager home earlier.  (This is not an Endgame re-write, but a completely new plot to replace it.)**story is now complete**





	1. This Is Wrong

**Author's Note:**

> This is the full story that was hinted at -- well-- started by the scene I'd come up with in [So Much For The Temporal Prime Directive](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16320020). I've added that into a series, so that these two stories will be connected, even though that scene will be re-written and integrated into one of the chapters of this story.
> 
> I will get the chapters posted as regularly as possible, though bear with me, I generally only get 2 days a week to concentrate on my writing, and WDW is moving into the Christmas crazy season and I'm prepping to open a new attraction in late December.

_The line it is drawn, the curse it is cast_  
_The slow one now will later be fast_  
_As the present now will later be past_  
_The order is rapidly fadin'_  
_And the first one now will later be last_  
_For the times they are a-changin'  
_ \--Blackmore’s Night, Songwriter, Bob Dylan

 

San Francisco, California 2402

The hustle and bustle of the cliffside restaurant, during its lunch period, was doing nothing to improve the mood of the man who sat at the bar, nursing a drink. His face was weathered with age, the dark blue lines across his left brow no longer as vibrant as they once were. He reached up and ran a hand through the silver-white hair, pushing it away from his eyes.

He sighed as a much smaller woman slid onto the stool next to him. She ran a comforting hand across his upper back and rested her chin on his shoulder. “You should stop with that one, Chakotay.” She pulled the glass from his hand and sniffed it, then took a sip and winced. “ _Kahless_ , what is this stuff doing to your stomach?”

“Leave me be, B’El.”

B’Elanna Torres sat straight and nodded to the bartender. “What kind of little sister would I be if I just let you sit here and stew?” she asked the man sitting next to her. “Can I get a Vulcan brandy?” she ordered. When the bartender walked away, B’Elanna turned to her oldest friend and nodded to his drink. “How many?”

“This is my third one,” Chakotay answered. “Don’t you have a husband to harass?”

She smirked. “He’s at the pool table, still trying to get credits off of Dalby.” B’Elanna raised her hand and added: “His credits, not mine.” She turned towards the pool table on the opposite side of the room that her friends were surrounding. “You should come join us.”

He turned toward the laughter and grunted. Chakotay looked at his dearest friend and shook his head slightly. “No thanks. I wasn’t the pool shark in the family, remember?” He turned back to the bar and downed the rest of his drink in one gulp.

B’Elanna took the drink the bartender slid across to her and regarded the man next to her. This was a happy day. Voyager had been home for fifteen years and a good number of the crew had met here for a reunion. They were surrounded by friends and family, but Chakotay oozed misery. She understood his pain, really she did. But, it’d been seventeen years; much too long to be trapped in the past.

She reached and took his hand, squeezing it in comfort. “Switch to tea, will you?” 

“Doesn’t this feel wrong to you?” Chakotay suddenly asked.

“What do you mean?” B’Elanna’s ridged brow quirked in confusion.

“Too many people gone that should be here.” Chakotay turned to the room, “Megan, Ayala, Seven, Tuvok,” he glanced at B’Elanna,”Tom.” He turned back to the bar and picked up his empty glass, tipping it up to catch any last liquid, then whispered painfully: “Kathryn.” He thumbed the simple gold ring on his left hand and nudged the glass toward the opposite edge of the bar. Nodding to the bartender, he pointed to the glass, indicating he wanted another. 

When the man returned to pick up the empty glass, B’Elanna stopped him. “Bring him a hot tea instead, please.” He nodded and left. “You have got to stop moping.”

“I am not moping.” Chakotay insisted as his hackles raised.

“Really?” She leaned against the bar facing him. “You’re three drinks in and it’s not even 1400 yet, Chakotay.” B’Elanna grabbed his arms and pulled Chakotay around to face her. “Harsh truth here, Old Man, Kathryn would not be happy with you right now and you know it!”

Chakotay shook his head, pulled out of her grip, and growled as he turned to the bar. “She should be here to tell me herself!” He turned back to the small, half-Klingon woman. “And that’s what I’m trying to tell you,” he gestured widely, “none of this feels right.”

B’Elanna sighed. “Life sucks, Chakotay. It dealt a shitty hand to us both. But I’ve moved on.” She took a deep breath. “I’m not here to tell you how to live your life; move on, or don’t. I just know that Tom wanted me to, and,” she lay her hand over his, “I know Kathryn would have wanted you to be happy, too.”

 

Miral Paris sat alone, at a table near the window, overlooking the ocean waves crashing against the cliffs as she nursed a bottle of beer and munched on chips with salsa. She glanced at the bar and saw her mother talking to her Uncle Chakotay, and shook her head. Miral loved him, but she wished he could find happiness somehow. There were good days and bad days; today was clearly a bad day - understandably so. It was a day of missing the people who didn’t come home. Miral lifted her bottle slightly and tipped it upward, in a silent toast to both her father and godmother. 

A young, raven-haired woman of fair height walked up to the bar, opposite the man and woman in conversation, and ordered a tall glass of beer. Her dark brown eyes turned toward her father, who was clearly not enjoying himself. As usual. At least Aunt B’El had switched him to tea. The last thing she wanted was to have to drag his drunk ass home. Again. 

Taking her drink, she moved to the table to join her best friend. Setting the glass down, she spun the chair around and sat, leaning her arms against the back. “Hey Mir.” She took a drink. “How much have you lost to Uncle Harry at the table?”

Miral grinned: “Dad’s on a roll today, so I skipped. He’s well on his way to fleecing Ken Dalby out of this week’s pay.” She glanced toward the bar. “Your dad okay, Tananka?”

The young woman sighed and ran a hand through her shoulder-length hair. “I don’t know,” she took a gulp of her beer, “he’s on this kick, lately, that none of this is right. That this,” Tananka crooked her fingers into air quotes, “timeline is wrong.” Well, not lately. It’s something he’d always felt, but, in the last year, he’d gotten more and more insistent. She was frankly worried he was going to do something stupid.

“What do you mean, Nan?”

Tananka shrugged. “He keeps insisting that Mom and your father should still be alive. Along with other people from Voyager, who died before we got home.” She sighed and turned her dark eyes toward the two at the bar. Chances were good her father was enlightening her Aunt B’Elanna on his grand theory.

“What do you think?” Miral asked. The quarter-Klingon didn’t really buy into weird timelines. She’d heard about it happening to people, and that it had happened a few times on Voyager, but was it relevant to their situation? “I mean, people not surviving a deep-space mission, that’s simply life, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know Mir.” Tananka glanced again at her father. “He’s pretty sure this is all wrong. Says he knows it in his spirit,” she shrugged. “Maybe it is, maybe my mother wasn’t supposed to die out there, but, how do I know it’s not just wishful thinking on Dad’s part?” She sighed heavily and stood. “I should probably get the old pain in the ass home before he gets even more plastered and makes a scene.” Tananka drained the rest of her glass and moved to hug the other woman. “When do you ship out again?” 

“The Watson leaves for DS9 in three days. I have to report the day after tomorrow,” Miral replied. “What about you, Nan? You still doing your own thing?”

“Yep. You know you’re always welcome to join us. We could use a good engineer.” Tananka hadn’t wanted to stay in Starfleet, even though she’d sailed through the Academy, with honors and, given her pedigree, could have chosen her own commission. She’d left Starfleet just a few months after graduation, and went into the exploration business, on her own. She accomplished so much more without someone breathing down her neck, anyway. 

Miral smiled. “I thought you were an engineer.”

“I could use a good co-pilot, then,” Tananka nodded toward the bar. “My current co-pilot is not at his best.”

Miral grinned wider. “Was he ever?”

Tananka chuckled. “I need to get the lousy pilot home.” She hugged Miral again. “Come by the house, tomorrow night. Bring Aunt B’Elanna and Uncle Harry. Maybe I can con Dad into cooking.”

Miral nodded. “Sounds good. I’ll see you tomorrow then.” She glanced over to the bar. “You need help?”

The other woman scrunched her nose and mouth and shook her head. “Nope. We’re good. See you tomorrow.”

Tananka walked behind her father and smiled at B’Elanna. “How many?” she mouthed to the older woman.

B’Elanna lifted three fingers and smiled, then stood and gave her goddaughter a hug. “I’m going to go see how badly Harry’s in the hole.”

“Thank you,” Tananka whispered into the hug and squeezed. She stepped back and grinned. “Hopefully it’s not too bad.” As B’Elanna started to leave, she added: “Oh, you, Uncle Harry, and Miral are coming to dinner, tomorrow. Dad’s cooking.”

Chakotay turned to face the two women. “I am? When did this happen?”

“About ten minutes ago,” Tananka smiled at her father, “it was good of you to offer.” She gave his arm a pat. “Now, let’s go home and sleep off those three whatever the hell it was you had.”

“I’m fine, Tananka,” Chakotay told his daughter. “You don’t need to babysit me.”

B’Elanna promised she’d see them tomorrow, before moving back to the pool table to join her second husband, and their friends, around the pool table.

“I’m not babysitting you, Dad.” Tananka pulled out her credit chip and handed it to the bartender, to pay their respective tabs. Once her business was settled, she held her arm out and waited for her father to take it. “Is there anyone you want to say goodbye to, before we ditch this place?”

Chakotay shook his head. “I’ve seen everyone. I have some things I need to do at home, anyway.”

“Oh?” she asked as they started walking for the exit, waving to former crewmates as they left. Tananka turned to him as they walked to their groundcar. “What kinds of things?”

“Nothing that concerns you,” Chakotay said as he slid into the passenger seat, not bothering to fight her over his fitness to drive. 

“Well, that concerns me,” she responded as she closed the driver’s side door and started the vehicle. 

Chakotay turned to glare at his daughter. “It’s personal.”

Tananka turned to him and raised an eyebrow. “Personal?”

He turned to the road and lay his head back against the seat. There were moments, like this, when he could clearly see Kathryn in their daughter, and a pain would lance through his heart. Tananka’s outward appearance bespoke her Native American roots, but she had her mother’s smile and mannerisms. Gods, did she have Kathryn’s mannerisms. “Yes,” he whispered, “it’s personal. Let it drop, okay, Nan?”

She let silence overtake them while she drove. Tananka pulled into their driveway and parked. “Do you need help getting up the stairs?” 

Chakotay slammed the door. “I’ve only had three glasses of Antarian Cider. It’d take a hell of a lot more to render me incapable of simple ambulatory movement.” He sighed. “You and B’El both need to stop treating me like a drunken fool.”

Tananka shoved her door, hard, and stalked around the front of the car. “Stop acting like one, then!” She stood in front of him, arms crossed and glared. “All you’ve done, the last year, is mope and drink. What the hell are we supposed to think, Dad!”

There it was again. That pain. “It would be nice if I had support from the two most important women in my life!” He stormed away and moved up the stairs, to their front porch, and keyed in the passcode for the door.

With a sigh, she followed him up and into the house. “Dad …”

He turned. “This is all wrong, don’t you understand that?”

“But, how do you know that?” Tananka snapped back.

“I know it in my soul that this…is...not...right!”

Tananka sighed and rubbed her hand across her eyes. “Okay, let’s say it is wrong,” she dropped her arms to her side, then crossed them again. “If you could somehow change it, what would happen?” She shrugged. “Would I cease to exist? Would we be back on Voyager? What?”

Chakotay breathed deeply and sat hard on the couch. “Anyone who died after the time I went back would be alive. B’Elanna would have Tom back. You’d have your mother back,” his voice hitched, “I’d have my peace back.”

Tananka moved to sit next to him, wrapping her arms around his side and leaning into his shoulder. “Daddy,” she tried to swallow back her tears, but they fell anyway. “I know I’m not Mama, and I could never be, but, I can be your peace, if you’d let me.” She rubbed her forehead against his shoulder. “It’s always been you and me against the universe. We can get past this, together.”

Chakotay turned slightly and tightly wrapped his arms around his daughter, the one good thing he had in this world. “Nanka, you bring me a different kind of peace and you’ve always meant everything to me, please don’t ever doubt that.” He pressed a kiss on her forehead, then pressed their foreheads together. “But, something vital is telling me this timeline is desperately wrong, and I know, in my entire being, it’s your mother.”

She sighed heavily. “So, how do we fix it?”

“I’ve already set the wheels in motion.” Chakotay sat and gave her leg a pat before clasping his hands together in his lap. “I need to borrow the DaVinci.”

“Uh uh, uh uh, no,” she protested, “you’re not taking him for two very good reasons. One, you’re not going to the distant past in my ship without me, and, two, any ship you pilot suddenly has a limited life span and you’re already three drinks in!”

He closed his eyes in frustration. “Tananka, I’m just meeting someone and I need a ship.”

Tananka leaned against his side, nudging him with her elbow. “I’m going with you, regardless. You have been drinking and, capable or not, I’m not letting you drink and fly,” she smirked crookedly, “not my ship.”

“Our ship.”

She stood and shook her head, pointing at her chest. “Mine.” Tananka walked to a drawer and pulled out two non-Starfleet regulated communicator badges and tossed one toward her father. “I’ll call Jor and tell him to get our boy ready to fly.”

Chakotay stood with a grin and pinned the badge to his left breast pocket. “Hah! You admit DaVinci is part mine.”

Tananka shook her head and reached into the coat closet to pull out her flight jacket, which was just a black, leather bomber jacket, emblazoned with the ship’s name across the back. B’Elanna had given it to her after the small ship’s dedication and christening. “A minor detail, Dad.” She grinned and slipped into the coat, pinching the fingers together as her hand pulled through the arm of the jacket. “Minor.”

He shook his head and laughed, the somber mood of earlier fading into cautious hope for the coming meeting. 

=^=

The small, brownish-tan ship settled into an easy flight toward the outskirts of the Sol system. The DaVinci was, what Harry Kim dubbed, a ‘Flyer Class’ ship: a bit bigger than the Delta Flyer, but similarly-shaped. He (male name, male ship, Tananka insisted) was fitted with the necessary stations and equipment for the science involved in archaeological and paleontological exploration. 

“So who are we meeting?” Tananka turned to her father, who sat next to her at the navigation station. 

“An old acquaintance,” Chakotay shrugged, “of a sort. We’re just coming onto Pluto, now. Once we pass Eris, we’ll change coordinates to the rendezvous point.”

Tananka nodded that she understood. “Why are we meeting out here in the ass-end of nowhere?”

“Starfleet doesn’t need to know.”

“Oh,” she silently mouthed. She reached over and grabbed the thermos she had sitting on her helm. Tananka spun open the lid and took a deep drink of the unsweetened iced tea. She reached and offered a drink to the man sitting next to her. 

Chakotay took the thermos and drank with a wince. “Not sweet enough.” He handed the drink back and nodded toward the passing dwarf planet. “That’s Eris,” he started typing, “here are the coordinates. Shouldn’t be much longer.”

And it wasn’t. Within the hour, they were at an all stop when a sleek, silver ship came in from overhead, then tucked in next to them. “Dad, that looks like a ‘Fleet ship.”

He smiled. “Yes it is. Just not one that anyone around here knows.” He hailed the vessel and arranged to meet its commander, aboard his ship.

As he stood, Tananka looked up at her father. “Are you coming back?”

Chakotay bent down to press a kiss atop his daughter’s head. “I’m just going to talk to him, Little One. When I put my plan into action, I’ll be taking the DaVinci.”

“Then you’ll be taking me,” she responded quickly.

He regarded her: “We’ll have that discussion later. I’ll be back in a bit.”

Tananka watched as he moved to the back and initiated a transport over to the ship beside them. Once his form had faded completely, she turned to regard the ship floating serenely next to them. She’d never seen a ship like it, and thought it oddly beautiful. She leaned forward to see if she could read the name on the silver plated hull: _USS Relativity_

 

Aboard the Time ship, Chakotay stepped down from the transporter platform and quirked his brow. He was expecting Captain Braxton, not the young -- a quick glance to the man’s neck provided the answer -- captain. 

“Captain Ducane,” the thin, young, brown-haired man supplied, noting the confusion. Ducane stepped forward to shake the hand of the older man, “Captain Chakotay.” The two fell into step as they left the transporter room. “I’m honestly surprised it took you this long to contact me.”


	2. Affirmation And  Reconnection

Captain Juel Ducane stepped aside and allowed his guest to enter the Relativity’s Ready Room first. “Would you like something to drink, Captain?”

Chakotay shook his head, declining a drink. “It’s just Chakotay. I left Starfleet a few years ago.”

The younger man nodded and gestured toward his desk. “Have a seat, Chakotay.” He sat himself in the chair behind the desk and leaned back, regarding the older gentleman. “I want you to know that I’m not here at the behest of DTI.” Ducane crossed one leg atop the other, braced his elbows on the arms of his chair, and clasped his hands. “I’m here on my own.”

“Oh?”

Ducane picked up a PADD and leaned forward to hand it to the other man. “How much do you know about the arrest of Captain Braxton, and his plot to destroy Voyager?”

Chakotay’s face showed startled surprise. “His what?” This was news to him. He took the PADD and started reading the information Ducane was showing him, then looked up. “I remember the temporal fluctuations. I’d just assumed we travelled into a space heavily-laden with chroniton particles, and they went away when we left that space. Kathryn and Seven did this?”

“We initially recruited Seven, but Captain Janeway blundered into it, and we had to involve her,” Ducane nodded with a slight smile. “Clearly, in this case, they both took the Temporal Prime Directive seriously, if Janeway didn’t even tell you.”

Chakotay chuckled. “That does explain the headache she complained about, that evening, at dinner.” He finished reading. “Neither of them even hinted at anything, so I had no idea this happened.” He laid the PADD back onto the smooth surface of the desk. “I’m not sure what this has to do with why I’m here, though?”

Ducane sat straight and pulled his chair fully beneath the desk. “I’m nearly one-hundred percent certain it has everything to do with why you’re here.”

Chakotay swallowed past the lump in his throat as the possible meaning started to become clear. “Are you telling me that I’m right?”

The younger man scratched the side of his nose and shrugged. “Since I got your message -- clever by the way, hiding it in one of Voyager’s temporal incursion logs.” Ducane raised his hand. “I won’t ask how you did it,” he smirked, then turned serious and continued: “I’ve been doing a little investigation, on my own, and discovered that, thanks to his leniency and good behavior, Braxton got out of prison, early.” Ducane hesitated, knowing his next words could very well make Voyager’s former Captain very angry. ”He promptly set about to do some temporal payback.” Ducane was proven right when his large companion roared to a stand.

“Are you telling me that my wife was murdered through an illegal temporal incursion?” Chakotay leaned forward, his anger so palpable he could barely stand.

Ducane nodded, imperceptibly. “He made minor changes that were missed. Captain Janeway’s, and for that matter, Seven of Nine’s, deaths were not investigated, because we had no idea the timeline had been altered.”

Chakotay slammed his hand on the desk. “You had better tell me that bastard has been dealt with and that we can fix this!”

Ducane stood and raised his hands, to try to calm the angry man down. “I authorized a full investigation of the incursions and we have re-arrested Braxton,” he explained. “He’s never leaving prison again.”

“He damned well better not, because, if I run across him again, he won’t survive to see the inside of another prison!” Chakotay growled. He took a deep breath, trying to push his anger aside. “What about fixing my timeline?”

Ducane took a deep breath and crossed his arms. “Well, that’s where I differ from DTI’s decision.” He stepped around his desk to approach his guest. “They are content to leave it be, since the changes were so subtle.” When he noticed the anger once again start to rise, Ducane raised his hands. “I, however, am not. Captain Janeway did us a huge favor by helping to uncover and apprehend Captain Braxton for his crimes. I think DTI owes her her life and I’m willing to give it, even if they’re not.”

Relief flooded Chakotay so quickly that his legs gave out and he sank into the chair he stood next to. “You’d risk your career for Kathryn?”

“I prefer temporal incursions to be resolved, no matter how subtle they are.” Ducane leaned against his desk, partially sitting on the edge. “I’m not the only one who thinks this way.” He leaned slightly, propped against an arm. “I think, over time, those in favor would outnumber those who aren’t.”

“Do you have a plan?” Chakotay asked, looking up at the young man who sat slightly above his level.

Ducane smiled. He pushed off the desk and stepped back around it, to open a drawer. He pulled out a PADD, that looked very much like one of Voyager’s, and handed it over the desk. “If asked, I know nothing about this,“ he emphasized, “outline of yours.” Ducane sat. “I’m only here to update you about Braxton’s involvement, which I have done.”

Chakotay nodded that he understood. He slipped the PADD into the inside pocket of his brown jacket as he stood, then reached over and shook Ducane’s hand. “I truly appreciate it and thank you.” Before he turned to go, Chakotay stopped. “One honest question. Will my daughter be negatively affected?”

Ducane shook his head. “Not for long, no.”

“What does that mean?”

“If you’re asking if she’ll be wiped from existence, no. Will there be changes to her life?” Ducane answered honestly: “Yes, but, ultimately, those changes will be good for her.” He nodded. “That’s all I can tell you, so I can keep my plausible deniability.”

Chakotay nodded. “Thank you. Again.” He started for the door. “I should head back to the DaVinci. I’ll …read the report there.”

“If all goes well,” Ducane said, as he moved to walk Chakotay out of his Ready Room and back to the transporter room, “I’ll not see you again. Good luck, Chakotay.” With that, he closed the conversation as they left the private confines of the room.

=^=

On board the DaVinci, Tananka lounged in her pilot’s chair, legs propped on the arm of the navigator’s seat. She took a chip from the bag she’d replicated and popped it into her mouth. “23 longitude,” she answered her holographic companion, after swallowing the snack.

“That is most definitely wrong,” the DaVinci hologram waved his finger toward her as he paced behind the two seats. 

“Oh, c’mon, Maestro, throw me a bone!” Tananka grumbled to the holographic interface that B’Elanna had programmed into the computer. 

After her mother had died, her father shut himself off from everyone, including her. Young Tananka had retreated into the comfort of the DaVinci holodeck program, that mother and daughter had shared. When B’Elanna and Harry helped her design and build the ship, there was only one name Tananka had considered. The DaVinci hologram, himself, was a gift, programmed by B’Elanna, to always be there to keep her company.

“A … bone?” the wizened man muttered, confused. “I don’t understand, youngling”

Tananka grinned. “It’s a figure of speech. It means, give me an easier question.” 

DaVinci laughed jovially. “Oh, well, in that case, what is—“

The whine of a transporter was suddenly heard and the young woman pulled her legs from the chair and sat straight. “He’s back! Thank you for keeping me company, Maestro!” She stood and gave the hologram a quick hug before ending the program.

Once the transport was complete, and her father started walking toward her, Tananka grinned. “You came back.” She’d been more concerned about Chakotay not returning than she thought. 

Chakotay smiled. “I promised I would, Tananka.”

“Well?” she asked. “How did your meeting go?”

She watched him pull a PADD out of an inner pocket of his brown leather flight jacket. 

“I was right,” Chakotay said.

“Who were those peo—” Tananka started speaking at the same time he did. Then she realized what he said. “Wait … what?”

Chakotay turned to sit at one of the science stations. “This timeline is wrong.” He activated the device in his hand and navigated to the report he was looking for.

Tananka stood, looking at him for a moment, expecting him to elaborate. When he didn’t, she got frustrated. “And?”

“I can’t really get into it, because of the Temporal Prime Directive.” Chakotay leaned back into the chair and prepared to delve into the outline of a plan designed to fix the mess that Braxton’s petty revenge had created. 

Tananka gave him an incredulous look. “Are you kidding me?” She moved closer and bent to get into his line of sight. “For as long as I can remember, you’ve complained about things not being right, and that my mother should be alive. You’ve drunk yourself into oblivion more times than I can count, because you’re so damned miserable!” Tananka straightened as he looked up at her. “But don’t take my feelings into account, at all, Dad!” She angrily wiped away a tear and took a deep breath, trying to reign in her anger. But the emotions she’d kept bottled inside, for what felt like her whole life, had suddenly been unleashed with the words ‘Temporal Prime Directive’. “Not that you ever have!” She lay a hand over her eyes, then closed the fingers to pinch the bridge of her nose. “I get it. I understand. You loved her. And, when she died, you were lost.” Her breath hitched as she tried to contain her emotions. “I was four years old! I needed my father. But I lost him, too, that day!”

Chakotay was not prepared for her outburst and blinked back his own tears. She was right, he realized, with a sickening lurch in his stomach. He’d been so damned selfish in his own grief that he hadn’t realized his own child was in so much pain. What kind of father did that make him? He stood and reached to pull her close when she stopped him, with both hands on his chest.

“She was my mother,” Tananka said, with a controlled anger. She stared blankly at her hands, the thumping heartbeat beneath them a small comfort, “and suddenly, one day, she wasn’t there anymore.” She was silent for a moment and then stepped into the embrace and pressed her forehead against the steadily-beating heart, needing to feel that her father was alive. “I don’t even remember what color her eyes were.” Tananka’s anger subsided and grief took hold.

“Blue.” Chakotay held her tightly in his arms as she cried against his chest. “Her eyes were blue.” He rested his cheek atop her head, “I’m so sorry, Little One.” He cradled her head with his hand and tried to envelope her within his embrace. “I never meant to hurt you, or to make you feel like you were abandoned.” He closed his eyes. “I just … hurt.”

Tananka wrapped her arms around him. “I do too, Daddy.” She held him as they cried together.

After several moments, Tananka pulled away slightly and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. She looked up into her father’s face and gave him a slight smile, then brushed away his tears with her fingers and gave him a quick kiss. “I’ll make you a deal. Stop shutting me out of your grief and I’ll stop shutting you out of mine.” Tananka leaned back into his embrace and hugged him tightly. “She was a part of both of us. We need to remember that.”

He nodded. “You’re right. We do.” Chakotay held her tight for a moment, before pulling away to pick up the PADD he’d been reading. It was a simple, yet complicated, outline; one that he’d need to fill in with a more specific plan. 

Tananka pointed. “So, tell me about this timeline and why it’s wrong.” She gave him a look. “And don’t pull the Temporal Prime Directive bullshit.”

Chakotay sighed. She was right; it wasn’t fair to keep her out of the loop. And, to be honest, at this point, he needed to stop worrying about it. “This is going to take a while, Tananka. Activate DaVinci and have him start us for home.”

She nodded, glad that her father was going to finally let her in. Tananka activated the Maestro and requested that he fly them home. Once they were en-route to Earth, she moved back to her father. “Okay, start talking.”

Chakotay wasn’t sure where to start, but decided the beginning was best and recounted the very first time Voyager had met Captain Braxton and his time ship. “The time ship I was just on is from the 29th century. The first time we met Braxton, he was in a different ship. He tried to destroy Voyager, because he thought we were the reason for an explosion that ripped half the Sol system apart, in their time. We were able to fight him off, but not before a temporal rift was accidentally created. That sent the time ship back to Earth, in the mid-20th century. Voyager was also pulled into the rift, and we ended up on Earth, just thirty years later than Braxton had …”

=^=

It was late evening when father and daughter finally arrived at their home, their moods much improved. They were laughing about headaches and time travel when they walked through the front door. “Anytime a temporal anomaly was involved, your mother would develop the worst headache,” Chakotay grinned. “That was usually a good indicator that we’d been involved in some temporal something or other, or Q was involved.”

Tananka laughed as she put their combadges back into the drawer and tossed her jacket over the chair by the fireplace. “Didn’t I meet Q, once?”

Chakotay shook his head. “No, that was Q Junior.” He moved toward the kitchen, “He was a problem all on his own,” and turned on the light. “Do you want something to eat? It’s late, but I’m hungry.”

Tananka started for the stairs. “Sure! I’ll have whatever you’re having.” She stopped at the bottom stair, then turned toward the kitchen. “Didn’t he take me somewhere? I remember Aunt B’Elanna mentioning something like that, one time.”

Chakotay looked toward the doorway, where his daughter had stopped, and grinned. “He did. He took you on a joy ride through the universe.” He chuckled as he pulled some veggies out, to cut for omelets. “I thought Kathryn was going to tear apart the Continuum, and Q Senior right along with it, to find you.”

Tananka grinned and leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. “How old was I?”

Chakotay turned to her. “You were two.” He huffed a laugh as he went back to the food preparation. “You laughed, endlessly, because you thought that had been the most fun thing you’d ever done.” He cracked the eggs and mixed them. “Your mother cursed Q, in many different languages. Half, of which, I didn’t know existed.” He looked at Tananka and smiled. “If you ever want to know where your temper came from, you got it from Kathryn.”

Tananka smiled broadly as she watched her father cook and talk. This had been the most open he’d ever been about her mother and she was overjoyed. He even looked as if the weight he’d been carrying around, probably since the day Kathryn Janeway died, was gone. He was happy, Tananka realized with a start. He was happy and she’d never seen him like this.

She pushed off the door and walked up to the man, who was now, literally, humming as he cooked. She rose up onto the balls of her feet and pressed a kiss against the rough, stubbled cheek. “I love you, Dad.”

He turned to her and smiled. “I love you too, Nanka.” Chakotay lay a hand in her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Food’s almost ready. Go ahead and wash up.”

Tananka grinned and headed upstairs to put on her night clothes and clean up for the late dinner.

=^=

After their dinner, father and daughter sat on the couch, discussing the mission they’d gone on that day. Chakotay’s long legs were propped on the footstool, and Tananka sat, cross-legged, facing him.

“Any more thoughts on how we’re going to pull this off?” Tananka asked her father. “We’re going to need to find some way to go back in time.” She gestured. “Unless, who was he? Ducane? Gave you some way to do it?”

Chakotay didn’t want Tananka to go with him, for so many reasons, not the least of which was the Temporal Prime Directive. But, he knew that, for him, this was going to be a one-way trip. And in no way was he going to take her with him. “I’ve been thinking about it,” he took a deep breath, “but, Tananka, you can’t come with me.”

“Dad …”

He interrupted. “Your presence, too early in your own timeline, would throw off the balance and could change something else.”

“Are you going back to before I was born?” she asked, concerned. “What if something you change means that I never …”

Chakotay reached for her hand. “Don’t,” he squeezed her hand, “I asked Ducane about you, specifically, and he said you’ll be fine. You’ll still exist.”

Tananka nodded silently. “It scares me.” She lifted her knees and wrapped her arms around them. “What about you?” She wasn’t stupid; she knew that going back in time, to save the ship, meant there would be a younger version of her father. Only one of them could exist. “Please tell me you aren’t going to nobly sacrifice yourself, so they can live.”

His silence gave her the answer. She blew out her breath and calmly told him: “I’m going with you. I won’t let you do that alone.”

Chakotay shook his head. “Nanka, I …”

She placed her hand over his mouth. “No. Subject has ended.”

He started to argue, but knew it would be useless. Chakotay still had quite a bit of planning and preparation to do, and there would be time to talk her out of it, later. They’d argued enough for the day and he was tired. Chakotay reached up and took her hand from his mouth, and gave it a squeeze. After a few moments, he stood. “I’ll be right back.”

Tananka watched him walk away. He’d given in too easily. She understood, then, that there would be time to argue, later. 

After a few minutes, he walked back into the room, carrying a rectangular book. Chakotay sat back down and pulled her toward him, and she settled into his side as he opened the book. It was an album of holographs that she’d never seen before.

Chakotay draped his right arm over his daughter’s side as she leaned against him. He balanced the open album across his legs, so she could easily see the images. He’d kept the book buried at the bottom of his shelf, forgotten in his grief. It was long past time to show it to his and Kathryn’s child. He absently rubbed Tananka’s arm as he let her flip through the pages, at her own pace. He was surprised to find that it didn’t pain him as much as he thought to see Kathryn. 

Tananka alternated between laughing and crying when she saw the holographs. They were all new to her. The only picture she had of her mother was one that, according to B’Elanna, was taken just days before Kathryn’s death. In it, four-year-old Tananka was held by her father, and Kathryn stood tucked in to his other side. All three were looking to the person taking the holograph. There was no connection to mother and daughter in the photo so Tananka had never truly felt one. 

The first photo she stopped at was a picture of the three of them, sitting on the floor, in what looked like the Mess Hall. Tananka was in her smiling mother’s lap, and looked to be about three years old. They were focused on a toy Voyager the toddler held in her hand. “She has my...er ... I have her smile.” Tananka looked up to Chakotay. “I have my mother’s smile.” 

He reached up with the arm around her and lightly scratched through her hair, nodding. “You do.” Chakotay hugged her to him. “There’s so much of Kathryn in you, you have no idea.” 

“Really?” she asked, with an almost-childlike wonder.

Chakotay nodded. “Yes, really. The way you cross your arms or pinch your nose. The way you roll your eyes or glare, that’s all your mother.” He smiled. “A lot of your mannerisms are hers.”

She tucked back into his side and snuggled close. “I didn’t know that.”

“Umm hmm,” he hemmed as Tananka went back to flipping the pages of the album. There were images of her with her parents on the holodeck; in the ready room; in a shuttle; at Neelix’s various holidays. Always smiling or laughing. She stopped on a holograph of the three of them, on one of the couches in the Mess Hall. Her father was lengthwise on the couch, leaning against the wall. Kathryn was laying against him, and she was laying on her mother’s chest. She didn’t look much older than a year, and they were all three asleep. Tananka traced her fingers along the figures and whispered: “We were a family.”

Chakotay nodded. “Yes, we were. Kathryn never did anything half-way. When she finally committed to our relationship, she did so, fully.” 

“Can I have a copy of this picture?” Tananka asked.

“You can have the entire album, if you want.” He lifted his arm from around her side. “We should probably go to sleep. We’ve got some planning to do, tomorrow”

She took the holo-album from his lap and closed it, then sat and asked: “We?”

“We.” Chakotay reached his hand out and smiled when she placed her hand in his. “Tananka, I may not have been the best father, over the years, but you grew up to be an amazing woman and I’m very proud of you.” He squeezed their joined hands lightly. “I know your mother would be, too.”


	3. Planning Stages

Delta Quadrant USS Voyager 2378

The small disc darted away, in an uneven line, in response to the push of the phaser. The responding hit to the small object changed its trajectory, and it darted into the calf of Voyager’s captain.

“Ow!” Kathryn hopped on the unhurt leg and rubbed the offending spot, as she looked at her Velocity partner. “That wasn’t fair!” She smirked and clapped him on the shoulder as the computer’s voice gave both the point, and the game, to her first officer.

Chakotay snickered: “What wasn’t fair about it, Kathryn? I’m sorry there’s a sport that you can’t always win at.”

She grabbed a towel and wiped the back of her neck. “Next time, we’re playing pool,” she smiled and flicked the towel in his direction.

He laughed and called for an end to the program. “How about we retire to our separate corners, and meet in the Mess Hall for dinner and crew evaluations, in half an hour? Unless you want to cook, and punish me for beating you?”

She laughed as they moved to the door. “That’s awfully brave of you, but I’m out of rations,” Kathryn sighed dramatically. “I’m going to have to suffer the coffee substitute, tomorrow morning.”

“Ouch,” Chakotay said as the doors opened and they left the holodeck. “I’ll tell you what, I’ll transfer a few of my rations to you, for coffee, if you let me do Tom Paris’ eval.”

Kathryn gave him a side eye. “What’s Tom done, now?”

Chakotay shook his head with a grin. “Nothing. He and B’Elanna have been working on some improvements to the Flyer, that I think will be beneficial, and I wanted to add a commendation to his file.”

Kathryn nodded, her smile widening. “For coffee, it’s a deal.” She stepped into the turbolift and waited until her companion followed. “Deck three,” she ordered, and the lift set it on its way. They rode in a comfortable silence, then exited and made their way to their individual quarters.

An hour later found the command team on opposite sides of a table, in the center of the Mess Hall, finishing off the remnants of their dinner. At that hour, there was still a good amount of crew present, and the air in the room was jovial. Kathryn stood and collected their dishes, to take them to the kitchen, and returned with two wine glasses and a bottle of Chell’s ‘approximate best’. Crew evaluations were, in all honesty, her least favorite part of the job, and the wine helped. At least that was always how she justified it.

Chakotay opened the bottle and filled the two glasses, while Kathryn distributed the PADDs. He joined her in a quick toast, then picked up one of the devices and switched it on. “And then what did he do?” he asked, continuing their conversation from before she cleared the table of dishes.

Kathryn grinned. “Told me I needed to finish the first four before I could get any more books from the library.” She huffed sarcastically. “I can’t read five books at the same time?”

“Well, when Frankenstein starts talking to Flotter and Trevis, you might want to ease back on the--” Chakotay’s comment was interrupted when he heard voices yell ‘What the hell?’ and ‘Brace for impact!’ Something glinted out of the corner of his eye, and he quickly looked toward the viewports, just as a torpedo-type weapon arced toward them. He had just enough time to dive toward his companion, and push her to the floor, before the ship violently lurched and the air was sucked from his lungs.

Kathryn had no idea what hit her because everything happened so fast; she heard the warning, saw Chakotay move, and then everything went black. When she came to, Kathryn could barely breathe because something was pressing against her chest. She quickly realized the heaviness was Chakotay’s dead weight atop hers. Thankful that his heart was beating strongly, Kathryn gently pushed against him. “Chakotay?” She turned her head and coughed; the jerking of her body jolted against the solid chest of her first officer, and pressed any remaining air from her lungs. “Chak … tay,” she wheezed, trying to wake him. 

He slowly came to consciousness and realized someone was calling his name. Chakotay felt a hard push against his chest and heard: “... can’t breathe … need you … move.” At that moment, Chakotay realized where he was, and what happened. “Sorry,” he rolled to his side and off the slight woman. “Are you alright, Kathryn?”

Gulping in a full breath, Kathryn nodded as she sat, carefully, testing for pain. Then her eyes took in the disarray of the room. “Oh … God.” There was a gaping hole in the external bulkhead, across the viewports. Anything not attached to the floor was piled against the rip, as if it’d been sucked there. With a lurch in her stomach, Kathryn noticed that included the people, as well. She and Chakotay had woken several feet from where they’d initially been, and Kathryn thanked every deity she’d heard of that the shielding worked as it should have, or each person in the Mess Hall would currently be floating space dust.

A strange ship was sitting in front of them. Kathryn braced herself against Chakotay’s shoulder as she stood and told him: “Can you--?” She gestured to the damaged room.

Chakotay let her help him to a stand, as he took in the wide gash, and nodded. “I’ll meet you back on the bridge, when I’m done here.”

Kathryn paused for a moment, her hand on Chakotay’s arm, acknowledging the close call. “Are you okay?”

He lay a hand atop hers and squeezed lightly. His mouth crooked in a faint smile he and said softly: “I’m fine,” then gestured with a nod toward the door. “You go where you’re needed. I’ll take care of things, here.”

She gave him a light smile and tapped her combadge. “Janeway to Tuvok, report!” she ordered, then dashed out the doors, heading for the bridge.

Kathryn ran to the lift as Tuvok explained to her, via the comms channel, that the unknown ship had come out of nowhere and fired on them, with no warning. By the time he was finished with his report, the lift doors re-opened and she rushed onto her bridge. “What are they doing now?” she asked as she took in the sight of the ship, on the main viewscreen.

“They seem to be waiting for something, Captain,” the Vulcan responded. “I have hailed the ship, twice.”

She acknowledged him with a nod and moved down to the command level, to stand in front of her chair. “Hail them again.”

Tuvok did as she commanded. “Channel is open.”

“This is Captain Kathryn Janeway, of the USS Voyager. We’re a peaceful ship, just making our way home. There was no need to fire on us, but, if necessary, we will defend ourselves.”

There was silence as Kathryn waited for a possible reply to her hail. She turned to Tuvok. “Close channel.” When he nodded that it was done, she continued: “Let me know when they bother to reply.” She turned to Ops and spoke to the ensign there. “Can I get damage and casualty reports?”

“Captain, the other ship is responding,” Tuvok interrupted.

She turned to the front. “On screen.” The figure that appeared was a giant of a male, in leather military dress; he was black in skin color, and rough, almost rock-like. His yellow-orange eyes were piercing, and his demeanor was as gruff as his look. Kathryn fought to tamp down the knot of fear that lodged in her stomach.

“Captain Kathryn Janeway, I am First General X’imu, of the Xelin force. You are in our space. Leave now or we will be forced to destroy you.”

Kathryn heard the lift door open behind her and felt, more than saw, Chakotay step up behind her. She then noticed Tom Paris move to his position, out of the corner of her eye, and realized that her senior staff had taken their respective places.

“First General,“ she started, “we only wish to pass through--”

The alien got angry: “I can see your armaments are no match for us. Leave now, or I will destroy you!”

She felt Chakotay lean closer, and knew he wanted to say something, so Kathryn turned slightly to face him. He subtly shook his head, and she agreed; they needed to retreat and lick their wounds before stepping into another conflict. Kathryn turned back to the screen: “We will leave.” She turned to Tom, but left the channel active, so the Xelin could hear her command. “Lieutenant Paris, full about, take us out of here.” She turned to Tuvok, and added: “End transmission.”

Kathryn turned and gave Chakotay a look as she passed to sit in her chair. Her gaze moved up, past her first officer, to Ops. “Harry, can you find some place distant, but not too far, for us to stop and take care of repairs?” When the young ensign nodded, she turned back towards her first officer and sighed. “I didn’t really want to do crew evals tonight, anyway.” 

=^= 

San Francisco, 2402

The afternoon was starting to warm nicely, after the chilly morning. Tananka stood in the kitchen, waiting for the kettle to boil, as she looked toward the dining room. Her father sat at the table, engrossed in the computer that was in front of him; he’d been there most of the morning, looking through old Delta Quadrant logs from Voyager, that he’d gotten by calling in a favor.

Her attention was pulled back to the kitchen with the shrill whistle and Tananka took the kettle off the stove, to fill both cups with the hot water, to steep the tea. She absently rubbed her shoulder and then picked up both cups. 

Tananka moved to the table and set one of the cups down, near the computer. Sitting in the chair next to her father, she blew on the hot liquid. Tananka watched him for a moment, knowing how hard it likely was, to watch and hear the logs. She’d been in the kitchen that morning, making breakfast, when he played the first one. She hadn’t heard her mother’s voice in so long that she’d forgotten the sound of it; Tananka found herself leaning against the wall that separated the two rooms, trying to hear it better. The next thing she knew, she was huddled on the floor, arms around her knees, and sobbing, hard. Then, her father was there, and they were crying together. 

Now, a few hours later, Tananka sat and watched as he read and listened to logs, working to find the right time and place to go back, to bring Voyager home. “How’s it going?”

Chakotay turned and smiled. “I’m narrowing down some times that might work.” He glanced over and noticed she’d refilled his tea. He picked up the cup and took a small sip, testing the temperature. “I’m starting to remember a lot of things, too.”

She smiled. “Good things?”

He returned her smile and nodded. “Yes.”

Tananka glanced up at the digital chronometer on the wall, then back to Chakotay, with a lift of her eyebrow. “Shouldn’t you be cooking? Aunt B’El and Uncle Harry will be here soon.”

He gave her a wry grin and lifted his hands, as if they were scales. Left hand: “Saving your mother”; and right hand: “Cooking the dinner you volunteered me to cook.” He alternated them and ended with the left hand higher and gave her a look. “Looks like you’re the one cooking.”

She rolled her eyes, turned, and stood with a sigh before looking back at him. “You’re such a pain in the ass.” Tananka stopped in the doorway as he laughed. “What am I cooking?”

He smiled broadly: “Something edible, hopefully.”

She gave him a quick glare and moved into the kitchen, to set about to making dinner. 

=^=

The Kim family arrived two hours later. The three ex-Voyager crew huddled at the table, around the computer, discussing logs and old memories. Miral helped Tananka finish dinner in the kitchen. Tananka had settled on vegetable lasagna, as it was something she could quickly throw together; it certainly wasn’t as good as her father’s, but she didn’t think it was too bad. It was, as he’d requested, edible, at least.

Miral stood at the counter, evenly adding lettuce to bowls, for salads. She turned toward the table, visible through the doorway. “So, what’s happened? It’s like Uncle Chakotay is a different person.”

Tananka stopped chopping the celery long enough to turn, briefly, to the tableau of the three in the dining room, actually laughing at memories. She smiled, then turned to face her closest friend. “I probably shouldn’t tell you, but you’ll find out, anyway. Yesterday, he got confirmation that he can save my mother.”

“What?” Miral exclaimed.

“Shh!” Tananka admonished. She spoke quietly: “He’s been right, all along.” She shook her head. “He told me some, but, didn’t tell me exactly why, or how, but, something happened that wasn’t supposed to, and here we are. In a timeline that shouldn’t exist.”

“That’s crazy!” the young quarter-Klingon exclaimed. She shook her head. “What about my parents? I mean,” she nodded toward B’Elanna and Harry, “Mom and Dad are happy. Would my own father be alive again?”

Tananka turned to the table and shrugged. “I don’t know, Mir. Maybe Dad setting things to right will be a good thing for them, too?” She shook her head and shrugged again. “Maybe Uncle Tom was supposed to die in that shuttle crash, with Seven, and your mom and Uncle Harry are supposed to be together?” She sighed. “Time travel is so confusing.” Tananka reached an arm out and hugged the closest person she’d had to a sister and kissed her cheek. “All I know is, for the first time since she died, Daddy is actually talking about Mom. I’ve learned more about her in the last several hours than I ever knew.” She smiled; things were looking up, regardless of the outcome of the altered timeline.

 

Once dinner was finished, Miral and Tananka collected the dishes and set about the post-dinner cleaning. Chakotay took the opportunity to admit to his closest friends why he’d been looking at old logs and doing all his research.

B’Elanna gave him a pointed look. “You’re kidding me?” she crossed her arms. “Dare I ask how you figured this out?”

He shook his head. “I can’t say, but the source is very reliable.”

The half-Klingon gave her friend a look, then glanced at her husband and back to Chakotay before taking a deep breath. “You went to Braxton, didn’t you?”

“B’El...” Chakotay started.

“Dammit, Chakotay,” she huffed, “why can’t you leave well enough alone?”

He sighed, glanced toward the kitchen and their girls, doing dishes. He motioned for both Harry and B’Elanna to follow him into a different room. Once there, Chakotay explained to them what he’d learned about Braxton, from Ducane. Both were shocked at what had transpired, and what the man done in the name of revenge.

“Should you be telling us this?” Harry asked. “What about the-”

The taller man shook his head. “I’m only talking to people who I think need to know, and they’re only getting what information I think they need.”

“So, what aren’t you telling us?” Harry asked.

Chakotay shook his head. “You two? Nothing. You know what I know. I’ll need you two to keep Nan from following me.”

That earned him a look from his adoptive sister. “You realize that will be impossible?”

“I need for you to make it possible,” Chakotay gave her an almost-threatening look, when she rolled her eyes, and left it at that.

Now that he’d told them the full extent of what he hadn’t wanted his daughter to hear, Chakotay took them back into the dining room. Chakotay sat and pulled up the information he’d gathered, that afternoon and pointed to Harry. “This is the point I’m going back to.” He spun the computer toward his former Ops officer. “Do you remember the Xelin?”

“Wasn’t that the big rock guy, who soundly kicked our asses?” B’Elanna asked. She glanced up with a smile as the two younger girls joined them at the table. “If I remember correctly, you and Kathryn were nearly spaced when they torpedoed the Mess Hall.”

Harry quirked a grin. “Well, Chell’s food was pretty bad.”

Chakotay chuckled. “It did get us out of doing crew evals. Though, in retrospect, I probably should have braved Kathryn’s deadly cooking that night, then we wouldn’t have been in the Mess Hall.”

B’Elanna laughed. “No, you’d have been in sickbay.”

The two younger women looked to each other, then to their collective parents. “Wait,” Tananka reached up with a finger, “can we get back to the ‘nearly spaced’-part? When was this? What happened?”

Chakotay met his daughter’s dark eyes. “An alien ship suddenly appeared, one evening, and fired on us. Your mother and I, this was before we were together, were working on crew evaluations, in the Mess Hall, when their torpedo hit the ship, before the shields were raised. The impact blew out a large section of the Mess Hall’s hull. There were about twenty other crew in there with us, at the time. The replacement shielding immediately covered the damage, but not before all the oxygen was sucked from the room, and we all briefly lost consciousness.”

Miral looked between all three of them and sardonically quipped: “That sounds like a barrel of laughs.”

Harry gave his step-daughter a look. “At the time, it wasn’t. But, no one was hurt; we were able to repair the damage; and twenty-four years later, it’s something we can tease about.”

Tananka shook her head and gave Miral a look that plainly said: ‘Our parents are crazy’. She leaned forward and changed the subject: “So, what makes this the perfect time?”

“Because the Xelin were guarding a wormhole,” Chakotay smiled. He’d been looking into why they’d been so adamant about not letting Voyager through their space.

“They what?” Harry leaned forward. “Where did you get that idea?” He pulled the computer closer to him.

“Look closely at your sensor log, then look at these readings from the USS Calypso’s mission to the Delta Quadrant, two years ago,” Chakotay told his friend.

B’Elanna leaned forward: “Chakotay, how did you get Calypso’s classified logs?”

“We know her captain.” He gave her a look. “Tricia Jenkins didn’t hesitate, when I asked.”

“Hey, good for her!” B’Elanna smiled. 

While they were talking, Harry was looking at the readings. “Damn, you’re right!” He looked closer at the newer logs. “How did Calypso get past the Xelin, for these readings?”

Chakotay shrugged. “Jenkins didn’t say.”

B’Elanna leaned closer to the computer. “This thing terminates in the Gamma Quadrant. How would that help us, er, Voyager?”

Chakotay stood and walked behind the two, bending down to show them a PADD with a star chart of the Gamma Quadrant on it. “Look,” he set the device on the table between them, “it terminates here.” He pointed to a spot on the map, then drew his finger downward. “That’s two days away from the terminus of the Bajoran Wormhole and Deep Space Nine.”

“Son of a bitch!” B’Elanna exclaimed. “We were that close. Those damned rock people.”

Chakotay moved back to sit. “I’m honestly glad we didn’t know that wormhole was there. Kathryn wouldn’t have hesitated to ignore the Xelin to get to it and that would not have ended well for us.”

B’Elanna and Harry both smiled, knowing their former captain’s singular recklessness when it came to potential ways to get back to the Alpha Quadrant. They looked at each other for a moment, then nodded. B’Elanna reached to clasp her husband’s hand. No words were needed; of course they would help, regardless of the outcome, for them.

“Okay, “ B’Elanna started, “how are you going to get back to twenty-four years ago?”

Chakotay sat back. “That’s something I’m still working on. I’ve heard the Klingons are working on some time travel device, but, that’s more rumor than actual fact.” He nodded to B’Elanna. “Have you heard anything?”

She shook her head. “Nope. Not a peep.”

Tananka slipped into the kitchen to grab bottles of beer and then passed them out to everyone. She took a deep breath, opened hers and took a drink, then sat and nonchalantly said: “So, I may know someone …”

Chakotay turned slowly toward his daughter. “What do you mean you know someone?” Immediately, his hackles rose and he went into full, protective father-mode. “And just how do you know this person?”

“I’m going to ignore the fact that it’s nice to see you finally care,” Tananka set the bottle down and gave him a pointed look as she leaned forward, “but I will remind you that I’ve done my share of salvage runs, and I have a few contacts that may or may not be on the up-and-up.” She could see his ire rising and stood to lean over the table. “You’re not the only one with secrets, Dad.” She took another drink from her bottle. “I might have contacted an old friend, this morning, while you were going through logs.”

Chakotay stood and stepped closer. “Tananka,” he said as a warning, “there is a fine line between salvage and smuggling. What side of that line are you on?”

“I haven’t been caught yet,” she said proudly. At his exasperated look, she waved her hand before he could speak. “That is a conversation we can have later. Right now, we have more important things to discuss.”

Chakotay took a deep breath and reigned in his anger. “Okay, fine,” he pointed at her, “but we will discuss it.” He crossed his arms as he regarded her. “Who is this contact?

“You know, as well as I do, a good contact is one whose trust you don’t betray,” she warned. Mischief sparked in her dark eyes. “Let’s just say that we go way back.”

He slightly rolled his eyes. “You’re only twenty-one, you can’t go that far back.”

She smiled. “Oh, I’ve known this person all my life.”

Realization dawned and he leaned across the table. “It’s someone from Voyager.” His eyes narrowed as he looked toward the two of his former crew that he had the closest relationship with. “Who the hell, on our ship, would get my daughter mixed up in something illegal?”

Both Harry and B’Elanna threw up their hands and shrugged. This was news to them, too.

Tananka sighed as she sat, hard, and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Dad, you’re getting sidetracked, here.” She flopped her arm on the table and looked up to the taller man. “Can we get back to the important stuff?” She pulled on his arm to get him to sit. “Seriously, while we were doing the dishes, I got a response. My contact wants to meet the day after tomorrow, to discuss possible leads for what we want.”

“Where should I meet them?” Chakotay asked.

Tananka shook her head. “I have to go with you, or they won’t meet. This is my contact. They trust me,” she shrugged. “If I don’t go, we’ll lose our lead.”

Chakotay hesitated before taking a drink from his beer bottle. He took a deep breath. “That doesn’t exactly sound legal.”

Tananka lifted an eyebrow and sat back. “Check me if I’m wrong, but, didn’t you meet mom because she was sent to arrest you?”

B’Elanna snorted. “She’s got you there, Chakotay.”

He huffed and shook his head. “That was entirely different.”

Tananka gave him a long look and crossed her arms. “Really? So you’re telling me that the Maquis didn’t lie, cheat, and steal, to do the right thing?”

Chakotay rubbed his face and glared in frustration. “I didn’t.”

At that, B’Elanna sat forward and called her oldest friend out. “Well, that’s bullshit. You stole medication, medical equipment, food stores, weapons... Hell, Chakotay, you stole the damned Val Jean!”

He turned to the half-Klingon woman and shook his head. “Do not help, B’Elanna.”

Voyager’s former engineer smirked, spread her arms, then gestured to her goddaughter. “She’s right, Chakotay. We can’t exactly walk up to Starfleet Headquarters and simply ask for a way to go back in time.” She took a swig from the bottle that sat next to her. “You’re gonna have to skirt the law on this one.”

At that comment, Chakotay raised an eyebrow. He glanced back to his daughter and sighed in resignation. “Okay, fine,” he snapped angrily. “We get the information we need, but, then we’re going to have a talk about you being a law-abiding citizen.”

“I,” Tananka finished off her beer, “am good at what I do. And it helps pay the bills better than exploring ruins does.”

Chakotay shook his head and gave her a look that said the topic wasn’t closed. “We’ll meet with your contact,” he pointed, “and as soon as we have what we need, you’re coming back home.”

She sat back and smirked. Yep, that wasn’t going to happen.

=^=

Two days later, father and daughter left their house to the care of the Kims. As Chakotay secured the passcode on the door, he glanced inside the window, toward the living room, one last time. If all went according to plan, the next time he opened this door, Kathryn would be with him, as if she’d been there all along, and they’d be coming home from some Starfleet function, no doubt. He could see her flopping onto the couch, with a tired smile, just as plain as if she were actually there.

“Dad?”

Chakotay jumped as his daughter’s voice cut through his reverie. He turned. “Yeah, sorry. I‘m ready.”

Tananka smiled and reached her hand out to him. “C’mon. Let’s go do this.”


	4. Into the Breach

The wide, lonely expanse of the inky black DaVinci was currently speeding through, at Warp 2, stretched endlessly. They’d only been flying for two days, but it felt more like a year. Chakotay walked to the front of the ship with two mugs of hot tea in his hands. “Are we any closer to this meeting place, or are we on a wild goose chase?” 

Tananka looked back, and up, at her father, and took the cup he handed her. She blew on the hot liquid and gave it a tentative sip. “We’re nearly there,” she said, cryptically.

Chakotay sat at the Nav station and regarded her with a look. “Is this a place you frequently meet?” At her grin, he sighed. “Nan, I really don’t like that you skirt the law like this.”

She cocked her head and looked up at him. “You’re one to talk, Maquis.”

He gave her a smirk. “Don’t start, Little One.”

Tananka chuckled and turned to slightly adjust their course, then opened a comms channel and made a hail: “DaVinci to Stingray. On your left and coming in.”

The reply came swiftly: “I see ya, Nan. Sending coordinates to meet.” There was a brief hesitation as Chakotay listened closely, trying to place the feminine voice. “Is the Commander with you?”

Tananka looked at her dad and held up a hand, to stop his reply. “Yes, he is,” she answered.

The person on the comms channel laughed. “It’s been nice knowin’ ya, Nan. See you soon.” 

At that moment, Chakotay recognised the laugh and, once the channel was closed, looked sharply at Tananka. “Naomi Wildman is your contact?” he asked, with stunned surprise.

Tananka raised her eyebrows and shrugged. “We all have secrets, Daddy.” She made a small turn to starboard and saw Naomi’s freighter as it passed into a small nebular cloud. She pointed the ship out and then followed the Stingray into the same cloud.

Once the two ships were docked and braced together, Tananka and Chakotay moved toward the hatch that would lead them to the Ktarian ship. “I thought Naomi was still in Starfleet?” Chakotay asked as they walked through the docking corridor.

Tananka shook her head and brushed back a loose strand of her black hair. “She stayed about as long as I did. She married a Ktarian scavenger and took over his,” she weaved her head back and forth, “business, when he was killed over a bad deal.”

“Does her mother know?” Chakotay asked, because he knew Sam well enough to know she’d approve of this life about as much as he did.

“She knows less than you do, now,” Tananka admitted. “Can we keep it that way, please?” She gave him a pat on the arm as they pushed through the door and into the Stingray’s cargo hold. “Let it go, okay, Dad. Naomi is really good at what she does and she’s my best contact.”

His sigh was caught short when he caught sight of the woman they were meeting. He hadn’t seen Naomi in several years, and was surprised at her appearance. She’d been the first child born on Voyager, early in their journey, and would be - by his recollection - in her early thirties. She wore black leather and was fully-armed; her red hair was cropped short; and her blue eyes were just as full of mischief as they’d always been. 

She walked up to them with a smile. “Hi Nan. Hi Commander.”

He smiled. “It’s just Chakotay, Naomi.”

She shook her head and chuckled. “No, that’s too weird.”

Chakotay smiled at her and shook his head. 

They walked into the cockpit of Naomi’s ship and sat at a small, round briefing table. “Okay, I’m not going to ask why you want what you want. That’s not my business.” Naomi set a couple PADDs on the table and scooted them toward Chakotay. “That said,” she looked at the man who, for the formative years of her life, was one of the many father figures she had, “I have a sneaking suspicion. All I’ll say is: ‘Good luck’.”

Chakotay gave her a look and picked up the devices, looking them over. Something called a Temporal Displacement Device sounded like it was exactly what he needed.

Naomi looked at Tananka, who had become a sort of partner in crime over the years, and gestured to Chakotay with her eyes, wordlessly asking if he was okay.

Tananka nodded lightly and smiled as she leaned forward and lay her hand over Chakotay’s. “Would that work?”

He nodded and looked back up at Naomi. “Where can I find this?” He handed the PADD to her. “It’s exactly what I need.”

Naomi looked over the data device and glanced back to Chakotay with a smirk. “Yeah, I definitely don’t want to know what you want with this.” She tapped a few keys. “You’ll find that at the Darkmore Market on Selik Three.” Naomi handed the PADD back to him. “Be careful. That’s a thug market and they don’t play fair. They deal in latinum currency,“ she pointed, “and that won’t come cheap.”

She glanced at Tananka. “Make sure DaVinch’s weapons are in working order. They don’t play around at that market.” Naomi turned her gaze to the older man. “I’d arm yourselves, as well.”

Chakotay nodded. “I’ve got … what we need.” He still had his own connections, and was able to acquire a decent amount of pure gold latinum. If he needed more, Chakotay was prepared to run. After all, once he used the displacement device, he’d be home free.

Chakotay turned to his daughter. And, now, came the hard part. “From here on out, Nanka, I’m going alone.” He turned to Naomi. “See that she gets back to Earth, please.” 

Tananka shot up out of her seat. “Oh, hell no!” She leaned forward. “I told you that I was not going to let you do this alone. We go together, or we don’t go at all.” She clutched the starter for Davinci and huffed.

He inhaled and stood. “We’re not going to have this argument, here! I’ve told you why you can’t go.” Chakotay softened and reached for her shoulder. “I’m not changing my mind.”

She glanced at Naomi and stood down. “Okay, fine.” The fire in her eyes never lessened as she quirked her mouth, angrily.

“I mean it, Nanka.” Chakotay lay his hand aside her cheek. “I have to do this alone.” He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I love you, Little One. I’m going to make things better for us both.”

Tananka pressed her jaws together and forced herself not to cry as she leaned in, her forehead to his chest; a gesture she’d done since the day she was born. “I love you, Daddy,” she whispered. “Be careful.”

Chakotay hugged his daughter, tightly, then stepped slightly back. He lay his hand out. “Can I have the starter?”

She looked him in the eye and handed it over. “You crash my ship, I will find you. No matter when you go.”

He gave Tananka a grin and hugged her tightly, once again. Something was niggling in the back of his mind that she’d given in too easily. But, for the moment, he ignored it. Chakotay pulled away and, with one final kiss goodbye, turned to leave. He said goodbye to Naomi and left the room.

The moment her father was out of earshot, Tananka turned to her friend. “Transport me to DaVinci, now.”

“But, Tananka!”

The younger woman glared. “Do it! And then leave as soon as Dad’s made it back to DaVinci and pulled away.”

Naomi ran to her helm and input the coordinates. “Goodbye and good luck, my friend.” She initiated the transport.

Once Tananka materialized onboard her ship, she found a place to hide until it was too late for Chakotay to send her back. She heard him come aboard and disengage the docking clamps, then felt the subtle current when the Stingray pulled off. When she felt DaVinci’s engines start up, she eased quietly from her hiding space and moved forward. Tananka stood for a moment, and watched, as her father set the ship into an easy warp, en route to Selik Three.

She leaned an arm against the wall, hand on her hip, and quirked an eyebrow. “Did you really think I was going to let you fly my ship, alone, you old pain in the ass?”

Chakotay jumped at the voice and then closed his eyes to quell the frustration. He turned and, for a half a second, could have sworn it was Kathryn standing there. “Dammit, Tananka! I told you you can’t come with me!” He rubbed his hands over his face. “You could affect your own timeline.”

Tananka regarded him with a look and moved forward, into the cabin. “I’m sure if I wasn’t supposed to be here, your buddy Ducane will come and yell at us.” She walked up to Chakotay and gave him a shove. “Now, get the hell out of my seat.”

He shook his head and gave up, knowing when he’d been beat. Now, he needed to concentrate on the mission at hand. Chakotay stood, gave her arm a frustrated squeeze, and moved to his own seat. “I want you to stay out of the way. This will be dangerous, and I don’t want to have to worry about you.”

“I am a smug--scavenger. I’m a scavenger, remember?” Tananka smirked. “I can take care of myself.”

Chakotay bowed his head and smiled. “When this is all said and done, we’re seriously going to have a talk about your career choices.”

Her smile matched his. “Or what? You’ll tell Mom?”

His eyes met hers and his smile widened. “I just might.”

Tananka laughed and reached her hand across the two chairs. She felt him take her hand and squeeze. “Love you, Daddy.”

Chakotay smiled. “You try my patience, Little One, but I wouldn’t have you any other way.”

=^=

Selik Three was as gloomy as it sounded. It was definitely a backwater planet; certainly not someplace one would want to spend any considerable time. The pollution was so bad, in the main city, it completely drowned out the sun. The air was barely breathable, so both Chakotay and Tananka wore headgear that fit tightly over their mouths and noses, to filter out the grit. 

They’d transported down, just outside of the market Naomi had told them about, armed and prepared for a fight, yet hopeful that it wouldn’t come to that. Chakotay was carrying the heavy bag of latinum, on his shoulder, and was looking around for the contact, whose information had been on the PADD he’d gotten from Naomi. He’d made the inquiry earlier that day, and the man said he’d meet them just outside the market. He was hopeful the alien would meet them alone, as it would be easier to grab the merchandise and run, if it came to that. 

When he saw a shadow move to his right, Chakotay instinctively reached to grab his daughter’s arm, to protect her. “Nan,” he said quietly, “on our right. Be on your guard.”

Tananka glanced to the right, without moving her head, then glanced around to their other side. She saw a shadow there, as well. “On our left, too. You ready for this, Dad?”

“Aye,” he acknowledged. “Be careful.” Chakotay could now see someone walking toward them, and assumed this was who they were to meet. They’d clearly brought their own guards. This would complicate things, but the contact had no idea they were up against a former Maquis soldier and a Starfleet-trained former-officer, who was apparently a damned smuggler in her spare time.

Once the contact approached, Chakotay was more than a little surprised to note it was a Cardassian. Damn. That really did complicate matters. Now, he was doubly-glad his most recognizable feature was covered by the cloth headgear they were wearing. He did notice that the approaching male had a bag in his hand, hopefully containing the device they needed. 

“Follow my lead. Don’t give any indication that you’re my daughter,” Chakotay warned her quietly. “Don’t pull your weapon until I tell you, and stay calm.” As the grey-skinned male came nearer, Chakotay gave one final instruction to Tananka: “Under no circumstances should you show fear.”

When the Cardassian stopped in front of them, Chakotay acknowledged him with a nod. “You Nirat?”

The grey man nodded. “And you are Amal?” He glanced to the small woman next to his buyer. “The female’s …”

“... name is not important,“ Chakotay interrupted. “I have the currency. Do you have the item?”

Nirat nodded and showed the bag he held. He glanced over to the woman, again. “I have decided to up the payment,” he nodded toward Tananka. “Make the female part of the deal.”

Chakotay’s eyes narrowed. He reached and grabbed Tananka’s upper arm and pulled her against him. In an even, threatening tone, he said: “The female is mine.” Chakotay gestured to the bag he held on his own shoulder. “There is more than enough latinum in here for your payment.”

The Cardassian grumbled, but let the topic go, for the time being. He set the bag on the ground and offered for Chakotay to look at the merchandise, then glanced around at his four guards. Nirat had a feeling the man he was dealing with was no newcomer to the markets, and wanted to be ready for any kind of fight. He once again regarded the young woman and felt a tightening in his groin; he would enjoy her later. Gaining her in a fight would make the conquest all the sweeter.

Nirat was not the first Cardassian Chakotay had dealt with, by far, so he recognized the tactic when he saw it. Letting the man think he was stupid enough to let his attention be diverted, Chakotay tossed the bag with the latinum on the ground, between them. Chakotay gave Tananka’s arm a squeeze, keeping her close to him, as he crouched to examine the merchandise. He knew he needed to make sure it was the real deal, anyway. 

Chakotay unzipped the bag and opened it, keeping his head carefully angled, so he would be prepared for the moment Nirat grabbed Tananka. It would give him the distraction he needed to get the device, and them both, away from the five Cardassians.

He picked up the device and was convinced it was the real deal. Chakotay had just started to zip the bag back up when Nirat made his move. The Cardassian grabbed Tananka, pulling his weapon at the same time. Chakotay’s hand was already poised on his phaser pistol, and he stood quickly, weapon in hand. “I said the female is mine, Nirat!” Chakotay could see fear in his daughter’s eyes, but it was accompanied by anger and a look of trust. He hoped to the Gods he could handle the five Cardassians, and get them both out of there alive.

“I reserve the right to change the payment plan, at any moment,” the man said with a hiss.

Moving surprisingly fast for a man of his age, Chakotay pulled Tananka free and shot, at the same time. As Nirat’s eyes widened in surprise, the former Maquis growled back: “And I reserve the right to refuse the change.”

Chakotay shot the man once more, to ensure he was dead, and grabbed the bag that held the displacement device. “Now would be a good time to start shooting, Nan.” Chakotay fired at the approaching Cardassians, hitting one, as he attempted to run back toward the ship. “Stay close, Little One, and be careful!” As he moved, Chakotay reached back to shoot the guard chasing him, and stumbled, but stayed on his feet. He steadied himself and re-aimed. This time, his shot was true and the Cardassian fell.

Tananka saw the guard to her right fire his weapon. She dodged the shot and aimed her own pistol toward him, returning the fire and hitting the Cardassian in the leg. “Yes! One down, Dad!” Now that she had a momentary breather, Tananka slapped her combadge. “Maestro, beam us in, now!”

After a moment’s hesitation, she felt the transporter take hold and, soon saw the interior of her ship. Tananka quickly glanced next to her and was glad to see her father was with her. “You okay?” she smiled.

Chakotay turned and matched her smile. “I’m good. Let’s get out of here!” He’d missed this kind of adventure and laughed as he set down the bag, with their intended item, and moved to his nav station. 

Tananka plopped down into her pilot seat and soon had them off the planet and in flight. She set coordinates, at this point, for as far from Selik Three as possible. The last thing they wanted was to be chased by other smugglers, who might have heard about the scuffle. 

After an hour of peaceful flight, the pair felt a bit more home free and let down their guard. Now, they could move on to the main phase of their plan: getting back to Voyager. To that end, Tananka left her father in the pilot seat and walked back to take a look at the Temporal Displacement device, and work on installing it into DaVinci’s systems.

“Computer, activate Maestro, please,” she asked. Once Leonardo appeared, he stepped to her. Tananka showed him what she had, and explained that he was to help her install it. Together, the two set to work.

Chakotay changed their course, heading to deep space and away from any planets. This would let them safely create a temporal rift, without endangering any nearby systems. He turned when he heard his name called. 

“Dad, can you give me the where and when we need to go, so I can program this, correctly?” Tananka and Leonardo had integrated the device into DaVinci’s engines. Now, all they needed was the heading. As she she stood to grab the PADD Chakotay held out to her, the ship lurched sharply, and she tripped into the wall. “Ow, damn! What was that?”

Chakotay turned to look and realized they’d been hit with weapons-fire. “Hell, someone’s shooting at us.” He raised the shields as Tananka slid into the Nav seat. She tapped on the console, bringing up the sensors.

“Oh, dammit! Two Cardassian ships on our tail!” Tananka primed the aft weapons and fired.

“Nan! Let me handle these idiots. You get that ready to discharge. If we can stay ahead of these guys, we can lose them when we go through the rift.”

Tananka gave him a look. “Be careful,” she grinned, “you aren’t the best pilot, under normal circumstances.” She leaned down and quickly kissed his cheek. “Don’t get us killed.”

Chakotay gave her a smile. “Get your ass back there and set that thing up, so we don’t get killed.”

She rushed to the back and stumbled as more weapons-fire hit the ship. “Dad!”

“Sorry!”

She picked up the PADD she dropped earlier and worked on entering the settings. Tananka looked at her Maestro and crossed her fingers. “Here’s hoping it works.” She pressed the button to activate it, and sat back. “Okay Dad, we’re good to go.” Tananka deactivated the DaVinci Hologram, rushed back to her seat, and took over the weapons. “I’m hooking it into the forward phaser, and giving you control of the aft phaser.” She flashed Chakotay a crooked grin. “You’ll have to shoot and fly, at the same time.”

Tananka aimed the forward phaser at a mark, several kilometers ahead of them, and activated it. She waited, with bated breath, for the rift to open. “C’mon, work,” she mumbled as she adjusted the flow of the displacement stream. She was nearly jostled from her seat when they were hit, again, and quickly glanced at their shields. “Shields are down to eighty percent.” 

“I’m trying, Nan!” 

Suddenly, the rift opened in front of them, looking similar to a nebula, in reds and purples, but roiling like a storm. “Yes!” Tananka cheered. Now, to fly into it, and hope to the Gods they didn’t end up dead, or in the wrong time. They looked at each other and both took deep breaths. Tananka reached across and took Chakotay’s hand. “Into the breach we go. See you on the other side, Daddy.”

Chakotay squeezed his daughter’s hand, and gave her a reassuring smile, as he flew the ship straight into the rift. The small ship was jostled by the temporal anomaly, but also by the Cardassian weapons. So far, the shields were holding at seventy-five percent.

As suddenly as the turbulence hit, it vanished, and the starfield cleared as they left the rift behind. Directly in front of them, hanging in the inky black space, was one of the most beautiful sights Chakotay had seen in a long time: Voyager. They’d made it. He blew a breath from his mouth as he realized what that sight meant: Kathryn. If they’d gone back to the right time, Kathryn was on that ship.

In that moment, Chakotay’s silent reverie was interrupted when Tananka announced: “The Cardassian ships are following us in!”

“We can’t let them get through!” he turned. “Close the rift.” 

“With what?” she snapped. “I didn’t get a chance to figure out how to reverse the damned thing! The Cardassians didn’t give me the time I needed to do that part!”

Chakotay turned for a second and looked at Voyager. By now, they’d have noticed the rift. “Voyager can close it with their deflector, but I want you to go to the back and stay there.”

“Dad!”

“No! I need you to stay back there while I contact Voyager. I don’t want them to know about you, yet,” Chakotay snapped. He caught Tananka’s eyes and gave her a pleading look.

She sighed. “I’m not staying on this ship, the entire time. They’ll find out about me, eventually.”

He turned back to the console. “That’s why I told you to stay home, dammit!”

“But …” 

“Tananka, please! I do not have time to argue with you.” He turned at the waist and pointed behind him. “Get in the back, now!”

She pressed her lips together and stomped back into the shadows of the ship. “Give me weapons control at the aft station. I can at least do that.” 

He nodded sharply; gave her the control; took a breath; and then hailed Voyager.


	5. Arrival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Devovere for the random help in fixing a paragraph that was perplexing me! :)
> 
> This chapter contains the rewritten and reintegrated scene from So Much For The Temporal Prime Directive.
> 
> =^=^=^=^=

Delta Quadrant, USS Voyager 2378

Kathryn considered the anomaly that had just opened in the space, near Voyager. According to the sensor readings, it contained a large number of chronitons, which could only mean it was some sort of temporal rift. She’d ordered Tom Paris to steer clear of the phenomena, when the smaller ship had come through. 

She threw a concerned glance at Chakotay, who moved to stand at her side. The smaller ship looked very similar to the Delta Flyer, if a little bigger. Kathryn had no idea if the rift went to the past, or the future, so if this was a version of the Flyer, she couldn’t guess when it had come from.

“Captain, there are two other ships inside the rift and they have weapons powered,” Tuvok observed from his tactical station.

The voice of her Security Chief interrupted Kathryn’s musings and she glanced back at him. “Hail the smaller--.” Her command was interrupted when Tuvok said the smaller ship was hailing them.

“On screen,” Kathryn turned back to the main viewscreen and was surprised at who she saw: a much older, and greyer, man, who looked suspiciously like her first officer, appeared on the viewscreen, a determined look on his face. She turned to the younger version of the man on her left and saw he was just as surprised as she was.

“Captain, I need you to create an anti-tachyon pulse, with your deflector, to close that rift.”

Kathryn hesitated. “And I need you to identify yourself, before you start ordering me around.”

“Dammit, Kathryn, we don’t have time for this!” the older man snapped.

Her eyes widened and she was stunned silent by the gall of his sharp reprimand. Kathryn was just recollecting her thoughts when she saw movement from the back of his ship.

A young, raven-haired woman, possibly in her early-twenties, stormed out of the darkness of the back of the shuttle. “Oh, for the love of the Gods, those are Cardassians! Will you stop staring at each other and close that damned rift before they blow us all out of the stars?!” She stood, arms crossed, dark eyes blazing.

Spurred into action, Kathryn turned to Tuvok and gave him the nod to do as asked and close the rift. Once the danger had passed, she turned to the viewscreen and the puzzling occupants of the small ship that had just appeared from the rift, in front of them. “Now, can you identify yourself, please?”

The older man turned to his companion. “I told you to stay in the back!”

“Well, someone had to save our asses!” she snapped.

“And you’ve completely blown the Temporal Prime Directive out of the water!” he growled in response.

Kathryn turned and gave Chakotay, the younger one, a troubled glance as she moved to her seat. He followed, going back to his own chair. She propped her elbow on the arm of her chair, nearest the center console, then her chin on her hand, as she watched the interplay between the two on the small ship. The man certainly looked and sounded like Chakotay, but much older. Who was he, really? And the young woman? Who was she to him?

Kathryn watched the viewscreen as the young woman lay her hands out flat and lifted one. “Stay alive,” the girl said, then lifted the other, “or Temporal Prime Directive.” She moved her hands up and down, as if they were scales and she was weighing the options, lifting the ‘stay alive’ hand a bit higher and giving him a look.

From his chair, next to her, Chakotay watched as Kathryn’s lips curled into the small smile that never failed to send an electric current through him. He turned his attention back to the screen: to the man who was clearly an older version of him, and the young woman whom he was beginning to suspect was, in that man's timeline .... his daughter.

On the smaller ship, the older man sighed. “You are the most stubborn, pigheaded-”

“Somebody’s cranky,” she retorted back.

“And somebody needs to shut up and go to the back!” he quickly replied back.

Tananka leaned down to give him a quick, chaste kiss on the lips. “I love you too, Dad,” she said, and gave him a crooked grin that answered any question as to the identity of her mother. She then moved back into the shadows of the rear of the shuttlecraft.

Kathryn sat a bit straighter when she heard the young woman call the older man ‘Dad’, but, when the girl smiled, it was like looking into a mirror. She felt a cold chill run down her spine, as if someone had walked across her grave. Kathryn looked to the man next to her and their eyes met, conveying so much in that look. This was their daughter; one from a different time or parallel universe. They quickly turned away from each other and back to the viewscreen.

She should say something, Kathryn thought. Try to figure out why they were there, in the first place; cut this transmission before … She glanced around the bridge, seeking other reactions. Tuvok’s eyebrow had become one with his hairline; that wasn’t a surprising response. Harry was watching the screen in rapt attention; again, not surprising. Tom; well, his back was to her, so she couldn’t tell, but chances were good he was sending messages to B’Elanna, down in Engineering. Kathryn closed her eyes and sighed.

On the DaVinci, Chakotay groaned. So much for subtlety. He turned toward the back. “Do me a favor and at least stay out of the way, since you weren’t supposed to follow me in the first place.”

A snort was heard. “Yeah, ‘cause I was going to let you do this by yourself, you pain in the ass old man. Besides, someone had to make sure you didn’t crash this ship.”

At that comment, Tom Paris couldn’t suppress the chuckle, and earned a clearing throat from behind him, in response. He quickly choked back his amusement. 

On the small ship, Chakotay rolled his eyes and shook his head. His eyes moved back to the small monitor, to look at the woman who he’d married two years from her time, then lost five years later, when their daughter was four. He decided the Temporal Prime Directive was already well and truly sunk, so his dark eyes sparked with humor before he glanced to his younger self, then pointed and said, to Kathryn: “In about a year and a half, when he gets the guts to tell you how he really feels, don’t encourage him.” He looked back, then to the front again, a sly smile now on his face. “Because you’ll end up with a child who is a maddening blend of both of your personalities,” his voice rose, “and is also a pain in the ass.”

“I heard that!” came from the shadows.

“You were supposed to!” he called back. 

On Voyager, Kathryn’s mouth opened, then closed, at this revelation. Tom had completely given up trying to hold in his laughter and she glared at the back of his head, mentally willing it to explode. She turned to her first officer and caught him as he quickly looked away from her, with a grin. He glanced downward and Kathryn returned her attention to the viewscreen. She stood, about to remind the older man about the Temporal Prime Directive, which he clearly felt no compunction in breaking, but, when he tugged at his ear and mumbled a half-hearted, amused ‘sorry’, a mild streak of anger moved through her. She took a breath and snapped a bit harsher than she meant: “Why are you here?”

“I have a way to get you back to the Alpha Quadrant within the week,” he answered.

Kathryn dropped back down into her chair, her irrational anger gone. “How?”

“If you give me,” he stopped and glanced at the young woman when she moved forward, again, and settled into the seat next to him, “us, permission to board, I’ll explain.”

Kathryn looked to the man at her left and then back to the screen. “Alright. I think your ship is small enough to fit in the shuttle bay.”

“By now, there should be plenty of room,” the young woman said with a grin to the older Chakotay.

He gave her a sharp look. “Will you stop.”

Her smile only widened.

He turned back to the small monitor in front of the helm console. “Yes, DaVinci’s just about the size of two Flyers.”

Kathryn couldn’t stop the grin. “Fine. We’ll see you on board in about twenty minutes.”

On the DaVinci, Chakotay nodded and manually began to pilot the small ship toward the entrance of Voyager’s shuttle bay.

Tananka turned to her father and gave him a smirk. “Just don’t hit anything on the way in.”

He turned to her and huffed. “I’m just as good a pilot as you are.” A rolling laugh bubbled from Tananka and he closed his eyes, briefly, and shook his head, then glanced at the monitor. “We’ll see you soon, if I haven’t spaced her first.” He gave a light smile. “DaVinci out.” He closed the channel.

On Voyager’s bridge, Kathryn sat in her chair for a moment, mentally digesting what had just happened. She turned to Chakotay and motioned with her head for him to follow. She stood and moved down to her ready room.

Kathryn walked up to her desk and turned to lean against it. When Chakotay entered, and crossed the room to her, she loosely crossed her arms. As the door closed, they could hear Tom’s “I like her” float across the bridge.

“Think we should brig him while they’re here?” she said with a grin.

“If he wasn’t already married, I’d say yes,” Chakotay responded protectively, with a smile of his own.

Kathryn chuckled for a moment, then turned serious. “Are you okay?” 

He looked at her and took a breath. “I’m … not sure.”

She nodded. That feeling was completely understandable, and very similar to where her emotions lay. They’d gotten quite a sneak peek at their future, or a potential future, or - Kathryn could almost feel the headache starting. “Do you want to come with me to meet them in the shuttle bay, or do you want to wait until later?”

He shook his head. “No. I’ll come with you.” Chakotay hesitated for a moment. Recalling that the older version of him was wearing a wedding ring and had his daughter with him, a thought crept through his mind. He could only think of one reason why he’d go back in time to change something. “Kathryn,” he reached forward, as if he were going to grab her hand, but pulled back. “I get the feeling you’re not in their lives. Anymore.”

Kathryn pushed off the desk and walked to her replicator, ordered coffee for herself, and the usual hot tea, for him. She moved up the stairs and sat on the couch, holding the teacup out to Chakotay as he joined her. Rather than discuss the implications of the older Chakotay, and his daughter, before she had all of the details, Kathryn diverted the topic. “Do you think he really has a way to get us home?” she asked quietly.

Chakotay took a sip from the hot tea cup and acquiesced to her change in subject. “I wouldn’t pick a fight with the Cardassians if I didn’t have a good reason.”

Kathryn turned and gave him a soft smile. “No, you wouldn’t.” She reached and gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze. They settled into a companionable silence as they finished their drinks and contemplated the sudden turn the day had taken. 

“How about we go down to the shuttle bay and meet our guests?” Kathryn took a final drink of the coffee, before standing to recycle the cup. Chakotay handed her his empty cup, so it could be recycled, as well, and stood to follow her down the steps. He waited until she walked past him before moving.

She stopped, just before triggering the sensor, and turned. “I’m going to insist that we stop by sickbay, just to verify that he is who we think he is.” She glanced toward the floor for a moment, then lifted her gaze back to Chakotay’s dark eyes. “I hope you understand.”

Chakotay shook his head. “It’s not for me to understand, Kathryn.” He gave her an understanding smile. “I personally would find it odd if you didn’t.”

Kathryn nodded and stepped through the doors. She moved to the top level of the bridge and stopped next to Tuvok. “We’re going down to meet the DaVinci.”

The tall Vulcan gave a sharp nod and spoke, succinctly: “I shall accompany you.”

The look on his face practically challenged her to tell him no, so she didn’t question it. Kathryn knew that, with strangers, familiar though they may be, security needed to be present. Given the identity of their guests, Tuvok was the only choice. She replied with her own nod and turned, “Tom, you’ve got the bridge.”

Voyager’s three senior-most officers left the bridge, to meet their mysterious guests.

 

Chakotay angled the DaVinci into the shuttle bay and touched down in the empty landing circle, next to the Delta Flyer. Once they were down, and the engines were off, he could see the bay door closing. Chakotay moved to the back of the ship and grabbed both his overnight bag, and Tananka’s. “Here.” He handed the white bag to his daughter and regarded her. He knew, from her vantage point of the helm monitor, she couldn’t see who he’d been speaking to, but she could certainly hear Kathryn … no, the Captain’s voice. “This isn’t going to be as easy as you think, Nan.”

She slipped the strap onto her shoulder and looked up to her father, giving him a smile. “I’ll be okay,” she nodded.

Before opening the doors, Chakotay glanced out and saw Kathryn, his younger self, and Tuvok, enter the bay. He took a deep breath, blew it out, then breathed in deeply, again. Giving himself a second, Chakotay opened the door and extended the small ramp. He turned to make sure Tananka was behind him, then stepped out of the ship.

Tananka followed. As her father stepped off the ramp, she glanced up, and could plainly see the three waiting, just a few feet away. Her vision zeroed in on her mother and her body stopped, as if her mind had just caught up to the adrenalin that had been ruling the roost since that morning. Suddenly she wasn’t ready at all. Tananka’s heart lurched into her throat and she mumbled: “I can’t do this,” and immediately turned and moved back into the safety of the familiar environs of her ship.

Chakotay heard the rush of steps, back up the ramp, and turned to see Tananka go back inside. Concerned, he immediately followed and found her leaning against the bulkhead, just inside the door. “Nanka?”

She gulped down her breath and looked up. “Just give me a minute.” She clenched and unclenched her fists, trying to ease the tension in her body. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, “I thought I could do it.”

Chakotay reached a gentle hand forward and cupped her cheek. “It’s not easy for me either, Little One. Take your time.” He let his thumb drift gently across her cheekbone, then dropped his hand. He gave her a small, sly grin. “You could just stay on the ship, the whole time.”

Tananka laughed through the threatening tears. “I will not stay on the ship.” She shook her arms out, took a cleansing breath, and stood. “Okay. I can do this.” 

“We can do this,” Chakotay said as he pulled her into his embrace. “I love you, Nanka.”

“Love you too, Daddy.” She settled into the embrace for a moment before stepping back. “Okay,” she smiled up to him, “Let’s do this.” He nodded and lifted his hand, palm up, for her to take. When she did, he squeezed lightly, and they turned to leave the ship together.

 

Kathryn felt an odd knot form in her stomach; it wasn’t fear, it wasn’t nerves. It was something she couldn’t exactly name. But, if Chakotay’s suggestion was correct, and she was somehow no longer a part of this family walking toward them, the young woman’s hesitation made sense. She glanced aside, to him, and could see by the clenching of his jaw that Chakotay’s feelings weren’t too far from her own. As the older Chakotay and his daughter approached, Kathryn straightened, let the captain’s control slip into place, and hid behind the indifferent mask.

At least, she tried.

Tuvok had stayed back, a few paces, in order to give them privacy. Kathryn knew, though, that he’d be there in an instant, should the need arise. She didn’t expect it and, she guessed, neither did he. 

“Welcome to Voyager,” Kathryn said, as the pair reached them. She glanced between the two and then met the older Chakotay’s eyes, and she smiled. “Or should I say, welcome back?”

Tananka hung back, still fighting her instinct to run back to DaVinci. Now that they were close, and she could literally reach out and touch the woman who would be her mother, it took everything she had to not rush into her arms. To curb that want, Tananka squeezed the hand that still comforted her, much harder.

“It’s been a long fifteen years since I’ve been on this ship.” Chakotay gave her a melancholy smile. He turned to the younger version of himself and offered his free hand. “I know this is probably awkward, and I apologize.”

The younger man shook his head and took the hand to shake. “It’s alright,” Chakotay said to his doppelganger. He couldn’t stop his gaze from going to the young woman, who stood slightly behind the man. “Is she okay?”

Tananka stood straight and pulled in her strength. Mentally, she kicked herself for the vulnerable moment. Okay, so she had every right to be flummoxed, but, Tananka, daughter of Chakotay does not cower. “I’m fine,” she said a bit too sharply. She stepped even with her father and dropped his hand. “Sorry. It’s just a bit, weird, for me.”

“That’s perfectly understandable,” Kathryn spoke up with a smile. 

“I’m,” she hesitated and looked to Chakotay, the younger version. Tananka scrunched her nose and glanced at the older man, next to her, then drifted a hand through her hair. Even though she’d already, essentially, verified it, giving her name would prove she was his daughter. When her father gave a slight nod, she looked back to the younger Chakotay. “Tananka.”

Kathryn felt, more than saw, Chakotay’s, well, her - no, the younger one’s reaction. Tananka had been his mother’s name. She rubbed her forehead; the headache was getting worse. She took a breath and glanced forward, into the amused glance of the older man. 

“Headache?” he asked, a smile dimpling his cheeks.

She couldn’t help her own smile. “Don’t you start.” She glanced to her left, at the widening grin on his face, too. “That’s all I need,” she lifted her hand, raising two fingers, “two of you.”

Kathryn shook her head and turned to face the young woman. “It’s lovely to meet you, Tananka.” Now that there were only a couple feet separating them, Kathryn was able to truly look at her (future? Parallel universe?) daughter, and she was able to see just how striking the girl was. She looked every bit like Chakotay: black hair, very dark brown eyes. But, Kathryn could see elements of herself, as well, in the young woman’s facial structure, nose, and even the lighter tone of her honey-colored skin. Despite herself, Kathryn couldn’t help thinking that she and Chakotay had created a beautiful child together.

She heard a throat clearing and snapped to the present, with the realization that she’d been staring. “I’m sorry,” Kathryn said.

“It’s okay,” Tananka told her. She herself had been trying not to do the same. “It’s,” her voice broke, “hard.” She blinked away the sudden tears. Tananka shook her head and quickly wiped at her eyes. “I …” she trailed off. Staying on the ship the whole time was starting to have merit. Right now, she had an overwhelming urge to rush back to the ship, and into her Maestro’s comforting arms. He’d been the closest thing she had to a grandfather and, at this moment, that was who she needed.

Tananka felt her father’s comforting arm over her shoulders, and leaned into the touch. She took gulping breaths, trying to stem the sudden burst of emotion.

Unsure of the sudden turn, Kathryn looked to the older man and he shook his head slightly, confirming the suspicion. She glanced to her left and met her own Chakotay’s eyes, then back to the older Chakotay. It was then that she noticed that he had a pain in his eyes that she hadn’t caught until now. “When?” she whispered.

Chakotay stepped closer to his captain and lay a hand on her shoulder, squeezing lightly, before leaning closer to whisper in her ear: “This isn’t the best place.”

Kathryn stiffened and was pulled out of the moment. She nodded, acknowledging that he was right, and took a breath as Chakotay stepped away from her. “Right. Yes.” She let the captain slip back into place. “We should leave the shuttle bay.” Kathryn pinched her nose, pulling her emotions back into place. “I … do you require one or two quarters?”

“One will be fine.” The older Chakotay gave Tananka’s shoulders a final squeeze before moving his arm. The moment had been thankfully broken. “I can sleep on the couch, if need be.”

Kathryn shook her head. “We’ll get you situated, comfortably.” She turned and gestured to the exit. “For now, let’s leave the shuttle bay to its crewmen.” As they walked past Tuvok, he settled in pace with them. “Can you head back up to the bridge,” Kathryn told him, “and see if you can find two-bedroom quarters for our guests?” At the raised eyebrow, she leaned closer and said, quietly: “Get creative, if you have to.”

“Yes, Captain,” he acknowledged. Once they were in the corridor, he moved away and headed for Deck One.


	6. Confirmation

The lighting in the grey corridor of Deck 5 was muted as the four people strode the distance between the turbolift and Sickbay. “I hope you don’t mind us stopping by here, first,” Kathryn told their new arrivals.

Chakotay shook his head, then lifted a hand to brush a silvery wisp of hair out of his eye. “I’d be surprised if you didn’t, Kath--Captain.”

She smiled warmly, her eyes quickly darting to his younger counterpart, who’d said much the same thing in her ready room, just a little bit ago. “Kathryn,” she corrected him, “please.”

The group arrived at their destination and the doors slid open as she crossed the sensor. “Computer, activate Emergency Medical-” Kathryn stopped mid-sentence, when the Doctor stepped out of his office.

“Captain!” the tall hologram spoke in his officious tone, “how may I help you?” It was then he noticed the others, who’d followed her into the room. His brows quirked and he muttered about no one ever telling him anything. “I see it’s just another day on Voyager,” he retorted sharply.

Kathryn leveled her gaze at him. “I need you to run a scan on Chakotay, just to determine that he is who he appears to be.”

Voyager’s EMH cleared his throat and glibly quipped: “Which one?”

At the glare from the Captain, he smirked and gestured to the older of the two to move to a biobed.

Chakotay stepped away from Tananka and slid onto a biobed. It was then that he noticed the twinge in his side. It was clear he’d gotten too sedentary, of late, and should have taken better care before setting off on an adventure that would have tasked even his younger self.

The Doctor moved to him and ran the diagnostic wand of the medical tricorder over his patient. He glanced at the man as the DNA confirmed his identity, albeit several years older. The Doctor moved the wand lower and paused, with a grim expression, over Chakotay’s side. “Are you aware you’ve been shot?”

Kathryn stepped forward, concern on her face.

“What?” Tananka moved quickly to her father. “Dad!” she chucked him hard on the shoulder.

“Ow!” Chakotay glared at her while rubbing his shoulder. “No, I didn’t know I’d been shot and this hurts worse, thank you, Nan!”

“Well!” She crossed her arms and glared.

The doctor shook his head. “Can you lift your shirt, so I can see the wound?”

Chakotay did as asked. Once he lifted a side of the black pullover, he could see a smallish scorch mark, over his lower left rib cage. It didn’t look to be bad at all, just a glancing hit. Thinking back, that had probably been what made him stumble during the firefight with Nirat’s guards.

Once he’d scanned the wound, the Doctor replied: “It’s not deep. Whatever weapon it was, it just nicked you.” He reached for a dermal regenerator when a hand stopped him. He looked into determined brown eyes.

“Leave it. Just make sure the wound is clean,” Chakotay told him.

The doctor nodded as he finished and let the older man slide off the table. “He is, indeed, Commander Chakotay.” Having not missed the young woman calling the man he’d just scanned ‘dad’, the Doctor hesitated before asking: “Do you want me to scan her, too?”

Without waiting for an answer, Tananka grinned. Pestering the Doctor had always been something she’d looked forward to, when she was little; he was so easy to get a reaction from. She braced one hand on the bed and hopped up, spinning to face the EMH as she landed on the table. “Please do.”

“Captain?” The holographic doctor asked, once more, giving her an out, because he had a feeling about what he was going to find. He nodded when she gestured to go ahead.

“It’s okay, Doctor,” she gestured for him to continue. “We ... already know.”

He ran the scan and wasn’t surprised by the result. “Well, you have my future congratulations, then.” He turned to the older man. “She’s perfectly healthy. No unexpected phaser burns.”

Tananka hopped off the table and gave her father a lopsided grin. “That’s because I know how to dodge.” She deftly sidestepped the swat that was aimed her way.

The younger Chakotay stepped behind Kathryn and nodded to the Doctor. “I would appreciate it if you were discrete about this information.”

The EMH straightened and lifted his brow, indignantly. “I am a Doctor, Commander, not a flibbertigibbet.”

Kathryn lifted, then furrowed her brows and gave a slight shake of her head and roll of her eyes. “Doctor,” she warned.

Commander Chakotay lowered his head slightly and smiled, when he’d noticed that the look on Tananka’s face most decidedly mirrored that on his Captain’s face. He was still unsure of how he felt about the newcomers, especially now that their identities had been confirmed.

Tananka scrunched her face at the fancy word and said to anyone who was listening: “What does that even mean?”

“It means he talks a lot,” her father supplied, giving a very general definition of the word.

She nodded in understanding. “Well, it is accurate.”

The hologram in question raised his arm in surrender. “Call me if you need any other menial medical tasks done.” With a huff, he set down the tricorder and deactivated himself.

Kathryn laughed and agreed with Tananka’s statement. “Have the two of you eaten, lately?” She had no idea what time it’d been when they’d entered the rift. She gestured to the four of them. “We could have dinner in my quarters, while we get yours situated.”

“With all due respect, Kathryn,” the grey-haired Chakotay started.

“I’ll cook,” the younger Chakotay finished.

Kathryn huffed. “My cooking is not that bad!”

“Well, neither are his piloting skills,” Tananka laughed, “but …” She opened her arms and shrugged with a grin.

Chakotay started to comment when the Doctor burst out of his office. “Okay, out!” 

“I thought you deactivated yourself,” Kathryn responded sharply.

“I do have reports to do, Captain.” At her answering glare, he retorted: “And this will not be in one.” Then, he literally shooed them with his hands. “If you leave, now.”

Kathryn regarded the EMH with an angry look as they left Sickbay. “One of these days, I’m going to delete him.”

Tananka laughed. “I could hide his mobile emitter, again.” Then she stopped herself, “er ...” 

The group started walking toward the turbolift, en route to the Captain’s quarters. “You did that?” Kathryn asked.

Tananka glanced to her father and a sorrowful look crossed her face. She tamped it down and smiled. “All the time, when I was little.” She scratched the back of her head and looked at the back of her father’s as they walked. “I suppose I did it for the attention.” She shrugged. “Anyway, I never hid it where he couldn’t easily find it. Usually just on the other side of the console, where he kept it.”

They stepped into the turbolift when the doors opened and Kathryn requested to be taken to Deck 3. While in the lift, Kathryn commed Tuvok and asked that he keep the bridge through the rest of Alpha shift, and that she only be contacted in case of Red Alert. Tuvok agreed and updated her on assigning quarters for their guests. 

As they left the lift on Deck 3, and walked the short distance to her quarters, Kathryn let the elder Chakotay know that they’d secured guest quarters for he and his daughter, just down the hall from Samantha and Naomi Wildman.

Tananka chuckled as they moved into Kathryn’s living area. “Well, that explains it,” she looked to her father, “I was clearly an early bad influence.”

He reached for the back of her neck and lightly squeezed. “Behave,” he threatened with a humorous glint, “or you will be spending the whole time on DaVinci.”

She laughed before moving away from him and taking in her surroundings. There was so much here that was very familiar to her. Tananka stopped in front of the grandfather clock and reached to touch it. She turned toward the room’s other occupants and was caught unprepared for the lump in her throat. “This is in our living room.” She turned back to the clock. “Except ours is broken,” she said, off-handedly.

Chakotay gave both his younger counterpart and Kathryn an uncomfortable look, and cleared his throat. “We could probably think about dinner.” And not how the damned clock got broken.

“It’s been a while since I’ve cooked with a replicator, but I can try my vegetable lasagna,” Tananka offered, walking back to the group.

“This is probably not the best replicator to start with,” Kathryn offered with a smile, and a dirty look aimed at the offending piece of technology.

“What’s wrong with it?” Tananka asked.

“Other than the fact that it hates me?” Kathryn gestured toward it and then shrugged. “I have no idea. I can’t find anything wrong with it.”

“Calling it names is probably not endearing it to you, Kathryn.” Her XO grinned when she shot a look at him.

“I can look at it,” Tananka offered. “DaVinci has his moments of crankiness, so I’m pretty good at wrangling obstinate tech.”

Kathryn shrugged. “Maybe a different set of eyes will find something.”

“Do you have a tool kit?” Tananka asked as she walked to the offending replicator, and ran her hand along the side. Now, she was in her element.

Kathryn moved into her bedroom, to get the tool kit from her closet. As she walked past the two men, to hand the kit to the young woman, she gave them both a sidelong glance. “Not one word. Either of you.”

The two men looked at each other. “What’s say we go next door and work on dinner?”

The older of the two agreed with a smile. As much as he wanted to stay, and simply watch Tananka interact with her mother, he knew better than to get in their way. “We’ll be back.” Chakotay turned to his daughter: “Nan.” He smiled when she turned his way. He started to warn her to watch what she said, but the non-descript emotion in her eyes stopped him. Instead, he asked: “Do you want beer or cider with your dinner?”

She picked up the laser screwdriver and started to take the front face off the replicator. “Beer, please.”

Chakotay nodded and then followed his younger counterpart out of the door.

Kathryn turned to her, as she now knew, future daughter. “Beer?” she asked with a mild look of disgust on her face.

Tananka set aside the cover of the replicator and sat on the floor, to look at its innards. “Yeah. Sorry. I picked that up from Mir.” She moved aside some wires and quickly realized it was too dark to see. “Do you have a better light source?”

Kathryn nodded. “Sure.” Mir? That wasn’t a name she recognized. “Who?” She found her wrist beacon and handed it to Tananka. “Here.” Kathryn folded her legs and sat on the floor next to the girl. 

“Oh, thanks.” Tananka slipped the light over her hand and turned it on. “Who? Mira-uh,” Tananka stopped herself, realizing she probably shouldn’t have said anything. “A friend of mine.” She pulled a small particle regulator out and gave it a once over. “This has seen better days, but, it’s fixable.”

Kathryn watched, with a smile at the determined look on the young woman’s face. The more she looked, the more she could see the blending of both she and Chakotay in the girl’s face. “So, tell me about yourself, Tananka.”

Dark eyes shot to hers. “I…” she hesitated, unsure of what she should or shouldn’t say. 

Kathryn smiled. “I don’t mean any future secrets. I just want to know about you.” She gestured to the pieces of replicator that now lay on the floor around them. “You clearly have an aptitude for mechanics.”

A smile crept across Tananka’s face. “I’m a pretty damned good engineer.” She looked back at the metal part she was examining. “That was my track in the Academy.”

“You went to the Academy?” 

Tananka nodded. “Graduated near the top of my class, too,” she said proudly. She handed the small part over. “Does this look bent to you?” She sat back and leaned her arms on her thighs. “I didn't stay in Starfleet, though. Daddy retired just before I graduated.” Truth be told, she hadn’t wanted to leave him to his own devices. Left alone, he probably would have burrowed himself into the house and never sobered up. “I didn’t want to get a commission and leave him.”

Kathryn set the part on the deck floor and reached to take the smaller hand. “Can I ask you something?”

Tananka started at the touch, but slowly closed her hand. She nodded.

“Is your father okay?” Kathryn hesitated and lowered her head slightly. That hadn’t been her intended question. She raised to find all too familiar, but much younger, dark-chocolate brown eyes looking at her, intently.

Tananka froze at the question. She met Kathryn’s eyes. Blue. Her breath hitched. She blinked, sat back, and swallowed hard. “He hasn’t been okay since you-” She closed her eyes tightly and rephrased: “Since Mom died.”

“I’m sorry,” Kathryn whispered. “I shouldn’t have asked you that.” She could tell by the interaction between the two that they’d been on their own for some time. She wanted to know when it had happened, not for her own information, but she could see that they were both in pain.

Tananka took a deep breath and collected her thoughts. “It’s okay.” She hesitated and sighed. “I just wish-” she stopped the train of thought. It wasn’t fair to put her personal problems onto the woman who would, in the future, be her mother, but, for now, was a virtual stranger. Tananka huffed a breath. Time travel really was headache-inducing. She turned her attention back to the replicator.

Kathryn watched the myriad of emotions cross the young woman’s face. She couldn’t imagine who was feeling more awkward. But, try as she might, Kathryn couldn’t let go of the fact that, for all her bluster, the girl was suffering. It was plainly written in her eyes. As if it had a mind of its own, Kathryn’s arm reached to brush dark hair from the girl’s face. “You just wish what?” she asked softly, tucking the loose hair behind Tananka’s ear.

Tananka startled at both the feel of the gentle touch on her hair and the question. She’d reached in and was trying to loosen the power coupling at the time, and her sudden movement caused the part to slip and she felt a searing pain on the tip of her finger. She gave a pitched and pain-filled yelp as she pulled away from the offending part. She could see her left index finger was bleeding profusely. “Ow! Dammit!” She squeezed her eyes shut as the sharp pain moved through her entire body. _Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry,_ Tananka mentally scolded herself as she felt tears forming.

Kathryn jumped when Tananka did and widened her eyes when she saw the amount of blood. She stood and grabbed a towel off the small kitchenette counter, next to the replicator. Without hesitation, she sat back down and grabbed the girl’s hand, to wrap the finger to stem the blood flow. “It’s okay,” she assured, looking at the pain registered on the girl’s face. “Do you want me to contact the Doctor or your father?”

Tananka shook her head and took a deep breath. “No,” she squeezed out. “I’ll be okay.” She opened her eyes and met concerned blue eyes. “It’s not the worst injury I’ve had. It just caught me off guard.” She quickly wiped at a tear that escaped and closed her eyes with a hiss, as her pain receptors throbbed again. “Son of a bitch, this hurts!” She reddened at her outburst and looked at Kathryn. “Sorry,” she smiled, “ I’ll try to remember to watch my language.”

Kathryn laughed at the tension-breaker. “Please, if anything, you probably got that from me.”

Tananka gave her a small smile. “That’s what Dad says.” She added more pressure to the towel.

Kathryn laughed. “I’m so sorry.” She reached for the injured hand. “Here, let me see.” She scooted closer and opened the towel, hoping the pressure was starting to ease the blood flow. “It’s a pretty deep cut.” She stood. “I’ll be back in a second. I’ve got a medkit in my closet.” 

Dark brown eyes watched as Kathryn walked toward the bedroom of her quarters. Tananka winced as another bolt of pain shot through her hand. She turned and gave the offending replicator a glare and a swift kick. 

“Kicking it never helps. Believe me, I’ve tried.” Kathryn sat and opened the medkit. She gave Tananka a smile and pulled a hypospray from the metal box. She added a dose of analgesic, then leaned closer to the young woman. “This is for the pain.” She brushed the girl’s hair away from the exposed neck and administered the drug, then set the grey hypo back into the box. “It’ll start to fade, soon.”

Tananka nodded. “Thank you.” 

Kathryn then picked up the dermal regenerator. She gave her future daughter a crooked smile. “Don’t tell the Doc I have this.” She winked and lowered to concentrate on healing the injury.

Tananka chuckled. “I’ve got three of them.” She winced and jerked her hand as a nerve ending randomly fired. “Ow!”

Kathryn pulled back and looked up. “Sorry.” She hesitated before reaching to finish closing the cut. “You okay?”

Tananka nodded. As the immediacy of the injury and the pain began to subside, her attention moved to the woman tenderly tending to the wound. “I’m … sorry I bled all over your carpet,” She said, quietly watching the face she barely remembered.

Kathryn gave her a soft smile. “It can be cleaned.” Now that the cut was completely healed, she set down the regenerator. She pulled the bloody towel away and sat back. “How does that feel?”

Tananka flexed her hand and added light pressure to her finger. She nodded. “Much better, thank you.” She smiled. “Exactly what did you do to make this replicator such a vengeful piece of technology?”

Kathryn laughed and stood, medkit and towel in one hand. “I have no idea.” She reached her free hand for the younger woman to take and pulled her to a stand. She walked toward her bedroom with the dirty towel. Kathryn placed the medkit back into her bedroom closet, and tossed the towel into the clothes refresher. She re-entered the main room and gestured to the couch. “Let’s let that thing sit there in pieces and contemplate its miserable existence for a while.”

 

Next door, in Voyager’s First Officer’s quarters, both men were standing on opposite sides of the small counter, busily preparing dinner. Thus far, their conversations had been benign small talk. Deciding what to fix; settling on vegetable biryani; being on Voyager again.

After a lull in the conversation, Chakotay looked across to his older counterpart. “So, you said you have a way to get us home within the week?” He set down the knife he was using to cut vegetables. “I can’t imagine going to all that trouble, picking a fight with the Cardassians, coming back in time, just for a shortcut?” He leaned forward, with his hands braced on the counter. “What’s the rush? What are we heading into?”

The elder Chakotay set his knife down and picked up the glass of cider. He drank it down in one gulp and moved to the viewport, to stare out at the passing stars. “You should turn around and head back into Xelin space.”

Chakotay furrowed his brow and walked around the counter, to follow his older duplicate. “That would be suicide. They outgunned us by quite a bit.”

The older man turned and regarded his younger self. “They’re sitting on a stable wormhole, that will take you to within two days of the Gamma Quadrant terminus of the Bajoran Wormhole.”

“What?”

“We didn’t know about it at the time, and left Xelin airspace behind, as you’re doing now.” He nodded and crossed his arms. “If you pass up this opportunity, if you stay on this path, it will take you another nine years to get home.” The older man turned back to the passing stars. “Kathryn will die in seven years, leaving behind a four-year-old daughter and husband who becomes a miserable, useless, shell of a man.” 

Chakotay was unsure of what to say to the man’s confession. He watched the passing stars for a moment, gathering his thoughts. He took a breath and stepped forward, laying a sympathetic hand on his double’s shoulder. “I’m … sorry.” He knew his feelings for Kathryn were strong, but he’d always thought he could handle the possibility of losing her. Faced with the very real example, from the future, clearly, he hadn’t handled it well at all. He let his hand drop. “But, you got Voyager home?”

The older man turned and laughed bitterly, his melancholy comment forgotten. “We should never have been here in the first damned place.” He shook his head. “You’re way off course.”

Chakotay’s brow furrowed in confusion and the sudden change in subject. “We are?”

“Do you remember Captain Braxton?” the grey-haired man asked.

Chakotay squinted his eyes as he thought back. The name sounded familiar. Where had he heard it - wait. “He was the twenty-ninth century time cop?”

The older man nodded. “Yes.” He glanced back and nodded in the direction of the viewports. “This is his revenge.”

“I don’t understand?” Chakotay asked. 

The duplicate Chakotay moved back to the counter, to finish his part of fixing dinner. “I’ve got a PADD in my bag that will explain everything,” he supplied. “After dinner, we should discuss this with Kathryn. She needs to be involved in this conversation.”


	7. Decisions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter includes a description of what happened to the elder Chakotay's Kathryn. Fair warning. It's just described, not written as a scene, but, I'll add a violence and major character death warning.

Alone in her quarters, after dinner, Kathryn finished cleaning the remaining blood off the carpet with a sonic hand vacuum. Once she’d put away the cleaning device, she set about to putting the replicator back together. Kathryn picked up the piece that Tananka had mentioned was bent and gave it a good look; the small wire on the end was definitely bowed the wrong way. She picked up a laser tool, to try straightening the part, and startled when her door chimed.

“Come in,” she called and the door slid open. Kathryn wasn’t surprised when her first officer stepped into the room. She smiled and turned to the open panel, ready to replace the newly-fixed part. “Did you get our visitors settled?” she asked without looking away from the exposed electronics.

He nodded, even though she couldn’t see. “I did.” Chakotay crouched to the floor, next to her. 

“Can you hand me that spanner?” Kathryn asked and blindly reached out, hand opening and closing, waiting for Chakotay to give her the tool.

He looked in the toolkit and found what she’d asked for and set it in her hand, “Can I help with anything else?”

“No, I think I’ve got it,” she answered. “I’d offer you some tea …” Kathryn trailed off with a shrug. She snapped the power coupling back in place and sat back, then gave him a look and blew a hank of hair from her eyes. “I think there’s some cider leftover from dinner.” She nodded toward the table. “I’ve about got this finished.” 

Chakotay took the hint and moved to the table, to fill two glasses with the last of the bottle of Antarian Cider he’d replicated to go with their dinner. He took the glasses and sat on the couch, to patiently wait until the offending replicator was back together. 

While he watched her work, Chakotay mulled over the confession that his elder self made about how he’d reacted to Kathryn’s death. The thought that he could shut down, like that, scared the hell out of him. Chakotay knew he was in too deep when it came to Kathryn, but he’d always assumed he’d be stronger, should anything happen to her. 

Chakotay ran his hands over his face; their child had been just four. If he’d shut down, where had that left their daughter? How had that affected Tananka? It clearly had, because their relationship, while definitely loving, was a little antagonistic. 

“Janeway to Chakotay.”

He jumped and automatically reached for his communicator. When he snapped to the present, and realized she was standing in front of him, Chakotay glanced up at her. “Sorry.”

Kathryn sat on the couch, next to him, her knee barely brushing his. She picked up her glass and took a sip. “Replicator rations for your thoughts?”

Chakotay gave her a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, took another drink, and followed it with a deep breath. “I was just thinking about the … unexpected glance at our future.”

“Oh?” She set her glass back onto the table.

Chakotay hesitated as he leaned against his arms propped on his legs and his gaze moved down to the deck floor, as if he was studying every stitch in the carpet. “Observing,” he said almost imperceptibly.

She reached to his knee, to lay her hand over his, and prompted: “And?”

He sighed and turned his hand up, to take hers, and gently squeezed as he blew out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. Chakotay moved to the viewport and faced the stars, as they drifted past. 

She watched as he stood, lost in thought. Kathryn went to stand behind him and lay a gentle hand on his arm. “You saw something in him.” She let her thumb drift lazily over his upper arm. 

After a moment, Chakotay responded: “A little like looking in a mirror and not liking what you see.” He moved his other hand to lay over hers. “Kathryn,” he said quietly, into the dark of the space in front of him, “when you … his Kathryn died, he lost himself.”

She didn’t quite know what to say to that. She hesitated and, instead, gave Chakotay’s arm another squeeze. 

Chakotay shook his head and walked away from her. He moved back to the couch and dropped down, heavily, onto the seat. “I’d like to think that I’d be better than that. That I’d handle your…” he stopped, unable to actually voice it, “something happening to you, without falling apart.” He took a deep breath and followed her, with his eyes, as she moved back to his side and sat. Kathryn opened her mouth to speak, but Chakotay lifted his hand, wordlessly asking for her to let him finish.

“We’ve never …” he took another drink from his glass, needing the fortification before continuing. “We’ve never vocalized our feelings, but, they’re there.” He risked a glance to her face. “There’s no use in denying it. You know how I feel about you; I know how you feel about me.” 

“Cha …” she started, but silenced when his hand raised again.

“Let me finish, Kathryn, please,” he requested, and continued when she gave him a slight nod. “I’ve never disagreed with your choice, your need, to wait until we’re back on Earth, before following through with our feelings.” He scratched his ear and took another breath, then clasped his hands together in his lap. “And, seeing how he … I … reacted to your death, once they were acted on,” he swallowed hard, “it’s more important now that we wait until we get home.”

Chakotay closed his eyes when he felt her hand drift over his shoulder. He turned to look at her and blinked away threatening tears, when he saw her eyes were filling. “It doesn’t matter if we get home next week, or in ten years. We can’t,” he finished in a whisper. He cleared his throat: “It’s more important to get this ship home, to get us home.”

He turned toward her and clasped both her hands in his, then lifted their hands and pressed a kiss on her knuckles. Chakotay looked Kathryn in the eyes and moved one hand to her face, to brush a tear away with his thumb. “But, when we do finally get to Earth, I want to marry you.”

Kathryn choked back a sob and smiled through her silent tears. She had no words, no coherent words, to follow up, so she found herself saying: “You seem awfully sure of yourself.”

He simply grinned. “Well, we do have a twenty-one year old daughter.”

She laughed and shook her head, thankful that the thick ice of tension was broken. Kathryn sombered and wiped her eyes. “Chakotay,” she glanced away for a moment, and steeled herself, “you’re right. We do have a lot of unspoken feelings between us, and,” she widely gestured, encompassing both the room and the space outside the viewports, “this is certainly not the place to speak them.” 

Kathryn stood and walked across the room, to the newly fixed - she hoped - replicator and turned his way. “Shall we test it?” At his nod, she ordered a coffee and a tea. When their drinks materialized, she gave the coffee a sniff. “Smells right.”

She walked back to Chakotay and handed him the hot tea. “But, it is my replicator, so, live dangerously.” Kathryn stood in front of him and took a small drink, nodding that it was good.

Chakotay leaned forward on the couch, setting his cup on the table behind where she stood, then pulled her cup from her hand and did the same. Once both their hands were empty, he took hers in his. “And that’s the rub isn’t it?” Chakotay looked up into her eyes as she looked down to meet his gaze. “Out here, we are living dangerously.”

“You want us to turn around and go back to Xelin space,” she said, “to find that wormhole.” She took a breath and squeezed his hands. “It’s suicide, Chakotay. You and I both saw, rather graphically, what one of their torpedos did to Voyager. Two of them could destroy us.”

“Kathryn, I’ve never known you to turn away from a shortcut, no matter how dangerous it could be.” Chakotay tugged her down to the couch, next to him, and turned to face her. “Especially one that will take us home.”

She let go of his hands and sat back, turning to look at the stars streaking past, as the warp engines took them farther and farther away from the sure way home. Kathryn sighed and turned back to the very dear man who sat next to her. In him, she saw her best friend; her future; her north star.

She regarded him for a moment longer, then tapped her communicator. “Janeway to Helm, stay on course, but slow us to impulse.” At the responding ‘Aye, Captain’, she met Chakotay’s eyes. “I still feel it’s too dangerous, but this gives us time to discuss it with everyone, before we get too far out of range.”

Chakotay nodded. “Thank you, Kathryn.”

Kathryn let her hand drift over his cheek. “Regardless of what we’ve learned today, about our future, I want you to know that, when this is all said and done, no matter how long it takes; when Voyager is home and parked at Utopia Planitia; when months of debriefings,” she rolled her eyes, ”are over; when the crew is settled...” Kathryn smiled. “Nothing would make me happier than to spend the rest of my life with my best friend at my side.”

He smiled then, and, for the first time since the DaVinci came through that rift, Chakotay felt a heavy weight leave his shoulders. With a spark in his eye, he joked: “I hope you and your coffee mug will be happy.”

Kathryn laughed heartily. “Oh, we will be.” She stood and took a cleansing breath. “We have a big decision to make, tomorrow, and I want to talk to our guest, again.” She reached for Chakotay’s hand and pulled him up from the couch. “We need to discuss all of our options before we turn around and fly straight into a possible trap.”

“You don’t trust him?” Chakotay asked.

Kathryn shook her head. “It’s not him I don’t trust,” she stepped closer to the door, “it’s DTI I don’t trust. Braxton was Ducane’s captain.” She bowed her head slightly and turned back to her slowly-following First Officer. “How do we know that he didn’t set this up, to send us back to the Xelin and get me killed, sooner?”

Chakotay stopped in front of her and lay both hands on each of her shoulders. “We don’t know that. But, you have to trust that, between the other Chakotay and I, you will be doubly-protected. Neither of us will let anything happen to you.”

She smiled and lay a hand on his chest. Kathryn pressed slightly, then patted her hand a couple times. “Go, sleep. We’ll discuss our options in the morning.”

He softly smiled, moving a hand, to cover hers, and gave it a light squeeze. With a nod, Chakotay turned for the door. “Goodnight, Kathryn.” 

She smiled and lifted her hand to wave. “Sleep well,” she told him as the doors closed on his retreating form.

 

In the guest quarters, the next morning, Tananka moved to the couch with the breakfast she’d requested from the replicator. Simple toast and hot tea were really all she could stomach, between the stress of going through a literal time change; seeing her mother alive, for the first time since she was little; and nearly slicing the tip of her finger off, her body was not happy. She heard movement from the other bedroom and assumed her father was awake. “Dad!” she called, “did you want something to eat, before we go?”

Chakotay stepped out of the bedroom and finished straightening the bottom of his shirt. “I’ll just take some hot tea,” he said, “and you’re not going.”

She moved to the replicator and placed the order. Hot mug in hand, she walked to where he stood and gave him a look. “I’m just as much a part of this as you are.”

“Nan, you aren’t part of the senior staff,” he protested.

She dropped her head slightly and glared at him. “Technically, neither are you, so that’s a terrible argument.” She grinned. “Drink your tea and let’s go.”

Chakotay sighed in defeat and sat on the couch. He watched Tananka for a moment, then spoke: “Nanka.” When she moved in his direction, he continued: “Are you okay? I know last night wasn’t easy.”

She sat next to him on the couch and tucked her feet under her. “I … it got easier as the evening went on, but..” Tananka looked at her injured finger, newly-regenerated skin still slightly pink. “When she was fixing my finger, I couldn’t get it out of my head that she was my mother and that I missed … that.” She took a deep breath and clenched her eyes shut. For the love of the Gods, she had to stop crying; she wasn’t a baby anymore and she had to stop acting like it! Suddenly feeling restless, Tananka popped off the couch and started pacing.

“Nanka,” Chakotay stood and watched her walk off the sudden energy. “It’s okay to feel that way, Little One.” He reached out and stopped her. “Hey,” he said softly, pulling her toward him. He held her close when she collapsed into his chest. “I know this is hard for you. It’s okay to feel a little lost.”

“How do you feel?” He barely heard her speak because her voice was muffled by his chest.

‘It’s not easy for me, either. Not by a long shot.” Chakotay tightened the hug. “But, we’re here to save her life, so I’ll bear the pain.” He pulled Tananka’s face up and leaned to press a kiss on her forehead. “Let’s go discuss this plan of ours and hope she goes for it.” 

She nodded and stepped away from him, then gave him a smile. “Let’s go then.”

 

Kathryn stifled a yawn as she stepped into the briefing room. She glanced around at her senior staff and gave a polite nod to the two newcomers. She was a bit surprised to see Tananka sitting against the wall, behind her father, but then realized the young girl had no other place to go. It had to be odd for her; a virtual stranger in a place she grew up, among people she considered family, but who were complete strangers. Kathryn met the girl’s eyes and gave her a smile.

She moved to her place, at the head of the table, and stood behind her chair. Crossing her arms over the back of the chair, Kathryn leaned and said: “I’m sure you’ve noticed we have two guests, this morning.” She looked around at her most trusted friends. “By now, given the rapid speed at which the gossip travels on this ship,” she met Tom Paris’ eyes with a knowing lift of her brow, “you are aware of who they are.” She smiled. “But, in case you don’t,” Kathryn gestured toward them, “Chakotay … Captain Chakotay.” She regarded him: “I believe you said, last night, that was your rank at retirement?” When he nodded, she continued with a gesture to the figure seated behind him, “and his daughter, Tananka.”

Kathryn glanced around the room. “While I’m sure it’s already too late, I would like to keep that information as contained to this room as we can, please?” Seeing the look on Tom’s face, she knew that request was an impossibility, so she gave a quick, defeated sigh, and sat in her chair. “I’m sure those who were not on the bridge, yesterday, are curious about why our guests are here.” She nodded and gestured their way. “Chakotay has informed us that the Xelin are sitting on a wormhole that can take us to the Bajoran Wormhole at DS9.”

At that news, nearly everyone suddenly sat straight. “But, they clobbered us,” Tom Paris responded in his own, succinct, way. Most everyone spoke up, agreeing.

Kathryn nodded. “They did.” She leaned back in her chair and watched everyone, then glanced at her very pregnant Chief Engineer and changed the subject. “I thought I placed you on maternity leave, Lieutenant?”

“And miss this?” B’Elanna grinned. “Not a chance.”

Kathryn lifted an eyebrow at the half-Klingon woman and said: “You’re to report back to your quarters after this meeting.” At the start of the protest she knew was coming, Kathryn raised a hand. “That’s an order.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tananka grin. 

She swept the room with her gaze, again, and resumed from where she had left off, with a nod. “Yes, they did,” she echoed Tom’s astute statement, “clobber us.” She stood. “And that’s why going back there concerns me.” Kathryn nodded toward her Chief Engineer, “B’Elanna’s child is not the only new arrival we have to worry about.” She started to pace around the table, as was her habit. “I know of at least one other couple who is expecting.” Kathryn paused between her Chakotay and Tuvok’s chairs. “I’m not at liberty to say, but the happy couple informed me, last week.” She noticed more than one set of eyes move from her to Tananka, and back, and decided to stop that train before it started. She shook her head and amended: “No, it’s not me.”

She moved back toward the head of the table and rubbed her forehead. “I am willing to hear options, but, in light of these developments, I’m hesitant to take the ship into a potentially-deadly conflict.” She sat and opened the floor to discussion.

From his seat, the elder Chakotay listened as Kathryn weighed, and summarily dismissed, each potential option for getting to the wormhole. He had offered his plan of taking DaVinci and acting as a decoy, but she rejected that, too. He sighed and mentally cursed her stubbornness. She’d never missed an opportunity to try to get them home, so why the Hell was she being obstinate, now? Was it really because of the impending births of Miral Paris and, if he was right about the timing of the other, Jacen Dalby. At her latest rejection of Tom Paris’ actual good idea of using holographic ships, as they’d done earlier in the journey, he’d had enough. He took a breath and risked her ire. “Captain, may I speak to you?” He steadied his gaze on her. “Alone?”

Kathryn quickly glanced at the man who spoke, pursed her lips, and tamped down the irritation. She stood and completed the meeting. “B’Elanna, go back to your quarters. I do not want to hear about you in Engineering.” She turned to the rest of the room. “Harry, keep your sensors trained on the Xelin, and make sure we’re not being followed. Tom, stay the course and speed. Seven, see if you can’t pinpoint that wormhole, and find another possible way in, that would avoid the Xelin.” Kathryn glanced to her left. “Tuvok, you have the bridge. Chakotay, I’d like you to remain here.” She regarded the room. “You’re all dismissed.” She sat back and watched as everyone filed out of the room, leaving its only occupants as both Chakotay’s, and she and Tananka. Once the room was silent, Kathryn gave the older man an expectant, irritated look. “We’re alone,” she said with a controlled voice. “Let me have it.”

The older man’s gaze never wavered from Kathryn’s face. After a few beats of silence, when he spoke, his voice was full of authority. “Tananka, I need you to find somewhere else to be.”

“Dad …”

“Little One, I mean it.” He turned his head, slightly, in her direction. “I don’t want you to hear this.”

She moved to a seat opposite the briefing room table from her father. “I think it’s time I do hear it.”

He sighed heavily and sat forward, leaning his arms on the table. “Dammit, Tananka,” he growled angrily, then softened. “Please.”

Kathryn sat forward and intervened: “Chakotay. She’s an adult. Let her stay, if she wishes.”

Chakotay took a deep breath and held it for a moment, trying to calm his frustration. “Fine.” He looked at his daughter, his gaze softening. “This is not going to be easy to hear. If it gets to be too much, please go.”

Tananka nodded in compromise. She glanced over to Kathryn and gave her a slight smile, in thanks.

He turned back to Kathryn and regarded both she and his younger counterpart. “Braxton knew what he was doing,” Chakotay’s gaze moved again to Kathryn. “He played the long game damned well. He let you have a life, a taste of happiness, before …” Chakotay sighed and pressed his hands against his eyes. He inhaled deeply. “In seven years, you will cross into the space of a species known as the Calderra..” His voice broke at the mention of the species that still haunted his nightmares.

Kathryn watched as he abruptly stood. She could tell he was struggling when he nearly doubled over, catching himself, with his hands, on the small ledge by the viewport. His jaw tightened and she could see his throat flex as he warred with his emotions. She reached to briefly squeeze the hand of her Chakotay before standing to lend comfort to the older man.

When he felt the soft touch of the hand on the back of his shoulder blade, Chakotay jumped and let out an abrupt and choked sob. He stood quickly, tamping down the emotion and met Kathryn’s concerned blue eyes. He shook his head, but his eyes never left hers. “They opened a hail to us, from the capital city of a nearby planet, known as Calderra Prime. Very friendly, asking who we were and if they could lend any service.” He started to lift his hand to touch her, but lowered it. “We were short on supplies, so you … my Kathryn responded, in the same open and friendly manner. As she spoke, she moved to the center of the bridge, as was her habit. I followed just behind, as was mine.” He smiled lightly when she did.

Chakotay’s gaze hardened slightly and he stepped away from the small woman in front of him. “What happened next has haunted me since that moment, and will do so for the rest of my life.”

“What happened, Chakotay?” Kathryn asked softly.

He gave her a look, as if to say: _don’t make me tell you_. He looked over Kathryn’s head, to his double, then back to the familiar blue eyes he never thought he’d see again. “The moment Kathryn identified herself as the commanding officer of Voyager, the Calderran’s demeanor changed. He glanced at someone next to him and, before I could react, you … she, just vanished. We had no warning, no indication that there could be trouble. It just,” Chakotay snapped his fingers, “happened that quickly.”

He clenched his fists and turned to the stars. “I hailed them multiple times, and it wasn’t more than five minutes later that they responded.” Chakotay closed his eyes. “I wish to the Gods I never answered that hail.” He turned back, his face as pale as the bulkhead. His hardened eyes met her concerned gaze. “The Calderran leader stood there, almost triumphantly, with,” his balance wavered and he fell back against the ledge of the viewport, “Kathryn’s blood-spattered … head,” he spat with sad anger, “in his fist, held there by her hair.”

Kathryn gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her Chakotay stand so fast his chair rolled back and slammed against the bulkhead. The sound echoed loudly in the tensely-silent room. “Why …” Kathryn whispered.

“When I asked, the bastard said that a female in a position of authority is a crime punishable by death.” He turned and slammed his hand against the bulkhead in anger. “And that the execution is carried out, swiftly and immediately.” He took a deep, gulping breath. “I can only hope it was so fast that she didn’t feel … anything. I asked,” he shook his head, “no, begged, to be able to transport her body back to the ship. He refused, told us to leave immediately or the same fate would befall every female on the ship.”

“For the safety of the crew, I had to leave her there.” He abruptly reached for Kathryn and pulled her against him in a tight hold. “Oh, Gods, I had to leave you there.” Chakotay held her tightly, as if she were a lifeline, and cried against her. It was brutally clear to her that he’d never been able to forgive himself. 

The younger Chakotay swallowed the lump in his own throat and watched as his older self pulled Kathryn into his arms. He heard a pinched cry and turned to the source: Tananka’s fist was clenched against her mouth as silent tears ran down her face. He swiftly moved around the table and crouched next to her. “Hey,” he whispered, gaining her attention. He opened his arms and, without hesitation, she silently moved into them, clenching his shoulder tightly.

“I never knew,” she mumbled against the shoulder that was so familiar to her, yet belonged to a stranger; although, one who’s smell and touch and embrace she knew as innately as she knew herself. “One day, she was there, and then she wasn’t. And then Daddy wasn’t there,” she opened up, lost in her grief. “And I was with Aunt B’Elanna and Uncle Tom and all I remember is that I wanted my Mama and I wanted my Daddy, and they weren’t there.”

Chakotay held her tightly as she cried. He felt anger rush through him; at Braxton, for exacting his revenge; at the Calderrans, for murdering the woman that he loved; at himself, for abandoning his child when she needed him the most; at the fucking Delta Quadrant, for being such a brutal environment. In that moment, Chakotay made the decision. Kathryn could be pissed at him all she wanted, but she’d be alive. 

With one arm around the quieting girl at his shoulder, he looked at Kathryn, still held in the tight embrace of the other man, and tapped his combadge. With a heavy voice, he spoke: “Chakotay to Paris. Reverse course. Take us back to Xelin space at best speed. We’re going to that damned wormhole.”

Kathryn pulled away from the distraught man and turned when she heard the order. Her combadge chirped, as she’d expected.

Tom’s voice sounded over the comm: “Captain?”

She stepped away from the older Chakotay and looked at her first officer, when he moved to her.

“Kathryn,” the younger man said, softly, as he gently wound his hand through her hair, to curl around the nape of her neck, “he had no way to protect his Kathryn.” Chakotay drifted his thumb across her skin. “But, I can, and will, protect mine.”

Kathryn closed her eyes as Chakotay drew her close and pressed a lengthy kiss against her forehead. “Do it, Tom,” she told her helmsman, in a voice leadened with emotion. She glanced up to the tear-stained face, that was so dear to her, and read everything unsaid in his soft, expressive gaze. She nodded in agreement, to all of it, and whispered: “Let’s go home.” She reached to brush away a drifting tear, smiled softly, and added: “Together.”


	8. Emotions

The older man sank into Kathryn’s chair as she moved away from him, as it had been the closest to where he’d been standing when his legs gave out. The strong emotions had left him weakened; the now-steady pain of the fairly fresh wound in his side matched the ache he felt in his heart. Recounting the story had, once again, brought everything to the forefront, bringing with it the image that he had never, truly, been able to free himself of, since the moment was seared into his very soul.

He’d felt a sharp relief when he heard his younger self order the change in course. Chakotay couldn’t stop the silent flow of tears as he watched the very much-alive woman he loved, with every fibre of his being, move into the arms of the other … him. He knew that nothing could ever bring his Kathryn back, but, watching them, he knew that he could now freely join her in the spirit world, knowing they would never know his pain; his loss. 

His attention was drawn back into the present, when he felt hands against his face, wiping away his tears. Chakotay focused on the young face, looking into his with concern. How very much like her mother she was; their beautiful daughter, who never deserved the life she’d been so callously handed, when he all but abandoned her on Tom and B’Elanna’s doorstep, after Kathryn had been so ruthlessly ripped from their lives. He took a deep breath and shored himself up, mentally, so he could face her. “I’m fine, Nan.”

A streak of anger burst through Tananka, at his impersonal use of her name, but she let it pass. Now was not the time for anger. “You’re not fine, Daddy.” _I’m not fine, Daddy._ She moved to wipe away another tear from his cheek, when he took her hand and gave her a wan smile. 

“I am, Little One.” He took a shuddering breath, which gave away his truth, but he sat back. “Now, we just need to work on our plan and get it finalized.”

Incensed, Tananka stood, sharply. “Talk to me, Dad. Please?”

He looked up at her, knowing what she wanted. But, right now, he couldn’t. It was too painful. “I’ve done all the talking I can do,” he told her honestly.

Her breath caught as anger fully ripped through her. “What happened to sharing our grief? You share with me, I’ll share with you?” She took in a sharp breath as her voice hitched and crossed her arms, angrily, trying desperately to fight off the tears. “Stop shutting me out! Gods dammit, I need to talk to you!” Suddenly, the walls of the briefing room closed in on her and she couldn’t breathe. Tananka needed out; away from him, away from them, away from everything. She turned and rushed through the doors.

 

Across the room, the other two occupants had moved to the far end of the table, giving father and daughter the space they needed after his admission. Kathryn sat and drew a heavy breath as she watched the scene unfolding at the other end of the table. She felt a hand lay over hers and glanced into concerned, dark eyes.

“Are you okay?” the younger, unbroken yet by time-version of the man sitting across the table asked her. 

She nodded silently, then subtly shook her head. Kathryn had no idea how to feel. She’d just been told a grim version of her future; one that wouldn’t come to pass if they were successful in getting past the Xelin fleet, to their wormhole. A potentially-deadly gauntlet, that could herald a loss of more than just her life; her single life versus a possible many. Kathryn dropped her hand on the table, in frustration. “Damned Prime Directive,” she mumbled as she stood, paced, and rubbed her forehead.

Chakotay turned in the chair, to follow her. “What do you mean?”

“Save my life, now, and possibly lose many; or save many lives, now, and I’ll die in seven years.” She stood next to his chair and looked down into Chakotay’s face. “You know, I’d sacrifice my life, in a heartbeat, if it meant saving my crew.”

Chakotay stood. “Kathryn, stop.” He lay a hand on her shoulder. “If we come up with a good plan, we can get home without losing any lives. That includes yours.”

When the yelling started, Kathryn looked up just in time to see Tananka rush through the briefing room doors and into the Deck One corridor. She glanced toward the girl’s father, to see him leaning against the table with a look of frustrated agony on his face. “What happened?” she asked as she moved in his direction.

“What always happens,” the elder Chakotay told her in a pained voice. “She wants what I can’t …” He dropped back into the chair. “Give.” He looked up at Kathryn as she sat in the chair next to him and then quickly down, embarrassed.

“She needs her father, Chakotay,” Kathryn told him, quietly. “You can give her that.”

He shook his head. “Tom and Harry were better fathers to her than I was.”

“Harry?” Kathryn asked, confusion in her voice.

“After Tom died; he, Seven, and Tuvok died in a shuttle crash, a few months before we got home; B’Elanna married Harry.”

Kathryn’s eyebrows flicked upward and she muttered an “oh”, before going back to the original subject. “ You’re the father she wants.”

He sighed heavily. “I’m an exhausted, bitter, empty old man.” He avoided looking at the woman in front of him. “I’ve been nothing but a burden to her.”

Kathryn slapped her hand on the table and rose to a stand, “Bullshit!” She reached to him and pulled his face towards her. “Let me tell you something, Chakotay. A kind and wonderful man once told me that he would stay by my side, that he would make my burdens lighter, and that my needs would always come first.” She hesitated for a moment, her anger calming, and swallowed around the ache in her tightening throat. “It seems to me that your … our daughter has spent her entire life doing the same for you.” She closed her eyes as tears threatened and whispered: “You need to let her find her peace in you, the way you found your peace in me.”

“I don’t know if I can,” he admitted.

Kathryn’s mouth twitched in the face of the cold irony of the role reversal. If it wasn’t so damned heartbreaking, it would be laughable. She glanced up and caught the same teary-eyed look on the younger man’s face. She gave him a soft smile and then bent to meet the same exact face, though lined with years of heartache, and quietly told him: “From my experience, setting invisible walls achieves nothing but wasted time.” She pressed her hand to his cheek and let her thumb drift over his lips before straightening.

Kathryn stepped to the other man in the room and softly told him: “I’m going to go find Tananka.” She glanced at the man who sat, emotionally drained, and then back to her Chakotay. “See if you can get him to lay down. Stop by sickbay and get a sedative if you need to, but he needs to rest.”

“Kathryn,” Chakotay stopped her as she started for the door. “I …”

“I know,” she whispered. She lay her hand on his upper arm and squeezed lightly. “Me too.” She left the briefing room without a second glance. 

As she walked toward the turbolift, Kathryn asked aloud: “Computer, location of the civilian Tananka?”

_Tananka is in the shuttle bay._

With a furrow of her brows, Kathryn asked: “Is there a shuttle being prepared for launch?”

_Negative._

Kathryn nodded as an automatic response and stepped into the turbolift. ”Shuttle bay,” she ordered, and the lift began to descend. “Computer, notify me if any launch is prepared.”

_Affirmative._

As the turbolift doors opened, Kathryn stepped out and walked the short distance to the entrance of the shuttle bay. With a quick glance to the door controls, she noted that the bay was still pressurized. Kathryn tapped the entry code and stepped in. As she made the trip down from the briefing room, Kathryn realized that Tananka had gone for the familiar and was, very likely, in her ship. Sure enough, the entry ramp to the DaVinci was lowered.

Kathryn stepped up to the ship and stopped just at the doorway. “Permission to come aboard?” she called.

“Come in,” came the call back, so Kathryn stepped through the hatch. She smiled as she recognized some of the interior; the ship really was very similar to the Delta Flyer. Knowing that, she turned the corner and quickly found the pilot’s alcove. She stopped in surprise at what, or rather who, she saw.

The long-bearded, white-haired man turned and smiled broadly. “Catarina!” His happiness quickly turned to confusion. “But,” he turned to Tananka, “I’m confused, youngling, You said…”

“My mother is dead,” she interrupted with a surprising lack of emotion. “That’s not my mother.”

Kathryn was surprised to feel a slight pang at that comment but, for the moment, let it slide. She turned to Leonardo with a smile. “Maestro. It’s good to see you.” She glanced around and spoke again to the hologram: “You are a part of this ship?”

“He’s the computer interface,” Tananka replied with a snap in her voice. “Computer, end..”

“Wait,” Kathryn put up a hand to stop her. She stepped closer to the wise old man she’d considered a mentor, of sorts, while on Voyager. Kathryn knew that whenever she hurt, she always went to her thinking tree, or some other special place. Clearly, DaVinci was special to Tananka or she wouldn’t have activated him. “Thank you.”

He nodded with a smile, then leaned and quietly said: “She could use a friend.” 

Kathryn returned his smile and, with a soft command, ended his program. She glanced around as she moved into the cockpit. “Nice ship. Comfortable.” She sat in the navigational seat. “I like it.”

“It fits my needs,” Tananka said with a shrug.

Kathryn watched the young woman for a moment. “Can you give me a tour?” she gestured around the different consoles. 

Tananka laughed almost bitterly. “Won’t take long.” She was still trying to figure out what the Captain wanted. She hated it when people pretended to be her friend, as a means to an end. The problem was, she couldn’t figure out what that end was, in this situation. Gods, she missed Miral. She wanted nothing more than to get completely drunk and cry on her best friend’s shoulder.

Tananka stood and motioned for the other woman to follow her. They stepped into the aft section. “This is our science department.” She pointed to the very aft section of the ship. “That’s engineering.” She gestured to the consoles nearest them and rubbed the back of her neck. “Dad and I go on archeological expeditions when we can.” Tananka glanced to Kathryn. “It keeps him out of trouble.”

“So, who keeps you out of trouble?” Kathryn asked as she dropped down to sit on the floor and leaned against the bulkhead. She patted the space next to her and was glad when the young woman sat. 

Tananka shrugged. “Friends, mostly.” She turned her head along the wall behind, to look at the woman next to her. “I don’t have anyone special, if that’s what you’re getting at. Miral, maybe.” Tananka faced forward again and sighed. “She’s the closest thing I have to a…” she shrugged. “But she-,” Tananka turned back to Kathryn, “she hasn’t been born yet.”

Miral? Kathryn thought. Where had she heard that name before? Then it dawned on her: “Tom and B’Elanna’s baby.” At the affirmative nod, Kathryn reached to give the young woman a supportive pat on the hand. “It must be awkward for you. Here, I mean.”

Tananka laughed ruefully. “You have no idea.”

“Why did you come?” Kathryn turned on her hip and faced the girl. “If you knew it would play havoc with your own timeline.” Kathryn loosely crossed her arms and moved to sit cross-legged. “If you’d stayed home, your timeline would have changed once we got back to Earth.”

With an audible thunk, Tananka dropped her head back against the bulkhead. “I wasn’t going to let the idiot do this alone. He can barely fly a shuttle, as it is.”

Kathryn’s lips curled into a slight smile. “While I won’t completely argue with that,” she lifted a knee and draped her arms over it, “what is the real reason you wouldn’t let your father risk his life. Alone?”

“He needs someone to keep him from drinking.”

“Tananka. That’s another excuse.”

“I..” she huffed. “I don’t know what you’re getting at.”

Kathryn hesitated, for only a moment. “I think you’re afraid of losing him, too.”

The bitter laugh surprised Kathryn.

“I lost my father years ago. I don’t remember him any more than I remember my mother.” She started to stand but was stopped when a gentle, but firm, hand wrapped around her wrist.

“Talk to me,” Kathryn prodded gently. “I don’t want you to walk away. I want to know how you feel.”

Tananka dropped back down and stared. She pulled her wrist away. “Why? Why do **you** want to know how I feel?”

“Because I care,” Kathryn told her quietly.

“You just met me,” Tananka huffed. “Stop acting like my mother. You’re not her.”

“Yes, I did just meet you.” Kathryn told her. “And, you know what? I like you. You’re funny, you’re smart. You’re a beautiful young woman, Tananka. You care deeply about your father, whether he deserves it or not.” She smiled. “We have that in common, you know. We both care about that man, whether he deserves it or not.”

“Usually not,” Tananka chimed in with a smirk.

Kathryn matched her smile with a wider one. “You’re right. He has his moments.” She brushed her fingers across the young woman’s brow, tucking a wayward strand of dark hair behind an ear. “But, we’re talking about you. I still want to know how you feel.”

“No one’s ever cared about my feelings.”

“Well, I do.”

Tananka dropped her head and stared at the grey-carpeted floor. “I don’t really know how I feel.” She took a deep breath. “Lost. I feel lost.” She looked up into attentive, slate-blue eyes. “Not just here. But, I’ve always, I guess, felt lost.” She quickly brushed away a tear as it dropped from her cheek.

“Lost how?” Kathryn whispered. She moved closer and lay a gentle hand on Tananka’s shoulder.

“I don’t … really know who I belong to. How I fit in.” She took a deep breath. “I mean, I know I’m the daughter of Chakotay and Kathryn Janeway, but, Uncle Tom and Aunt B’Elanna; and Uncle Harry and maybe Aunt Sam …”

“It takes a village …” Kathryn whispered.

“What?”

“It sounds to me that you were a very loved little girl.”

“But all I ever wanted was my Daddy,” came the small whisper.

“Oh, Tananka,” Kathryn gently assured, “never doubt that he loves you. He just doesn’t know how to show it.”

“He did, once,” her voice hitched. She suddenly crawled across the room and reached into a small alcove near the engineering console. She pulled something out and then crawled back to Kathryn. When she returned, Tananka curled against the older woman’s side, taking succor in her reassuring touch. The thought never entered her mind that this woman was a virtual stranger. This was someone who was actually listening to her and not shutting her out, and it just felt right.

Tananka held up the holoimage of her parents and herself, sleeping on the sofa in the mess hall. “I had a family, once.”

Kathryn smiled as she took in the scene in the image. It was honestly a moment she’d thought about with Chakotay since, well, since New Earth, really. But she never imagined it would actually happen. Now, seeing it, she was transfixed by the utter serenity of the moment. She brushed a finger across the figures and whispered: “We were a beautiful family,” without realizing what she actually said.

She was jarred out of her reverie when the girl in her arms startled and then curled in on herself and began to sob, brokenly. Kathryn automatically wrapped Tananka tightly in her arms and gently soothed her as she cried. It was, at that moment, that Kathryn felt with utter certainty that this was her daughter. Her heart was breaking for Tananka, for Chakotay, and what they’d both had to endure. She closed her eyes as her own tears threatened to fall. Tananka soon calmed and Kathryn realized that she’d cried herself to sleep.

While Tananka slept, Kathryn thought about their circumstances. The hell of it was that they were in a no-win situation. Kathryn could tell Tananka that everything would be alright, but she knew in her heart it wouldn’t. To save her life, to fix the broken timeline caused by Braxton’s damage, one or both of them was going to have to die. God damned, Braxton. She should have-. Kathryn growled in frustration. Should have what? Killed him when she had a chance? That would have made her no better than he. She tightened her arms around the sleeping girl. She had to do something. She couldn’t let them sacrifice their lives for her. But, if they didn’t, she would die anyway, and their lives wouldn’t be any different. Kathryn groaned and leaned her head hard against the bulkhead she sat near. It was a catch-22 situation, and she hated those just as much as she hated temporal incursions; and this was a combination of both. The headache was going to be brutal. 

=^=

While the older man was sleeping off the trauma of his resurfaced memories, Chakotay sat in his chair, on the bridge, staring silently at the star-filled viewscreen. He breathed evenly, trying to mentally process everything they’d learned that morning. He’d taken the man to sickbay, to get a sedative, amidst protests; he’d refused to stay in the medical bay, so Chakotay had taken him to his own quarters on deck three to sleep it off. The computer would notify him when his counterpart awoke.

In the meantime, he settled himself in and tried to work on duty rosters for the next week. Instead, his mind kept going back to the brutal image the man had painted of Kathryn’s death. Chakotay sighed and leaned back in his chair. The bridge was so quiet, at the moment, one could hear the proverbial pin drop. Even Paris and Kim had been uncharacteristically silent.

If it was any other time, he’d be suspicious.

Chakotay was thankful no one knew exactly why he’d made the call to return to Xelin space. He thought about Tananka, and how she should not have heard about her mother’s death in that manner. But, neither he or Kathryn could have predicted what really happened. Though, having heard it, the actions of the older man now made a strange sense to him. He wondered if Kathryn had found her and how they were faring.

While he was thinking over the events of the morning, he heard the Doctor comm Tom and notify him that his wife had just arrived in sickbay, in full labor. The young man quickly turned his direction and asked, without speaking, if he could leave. Chakotay nodded and stood, to take Tom's place, until he could get a replacement helm officer to the bridge.

At least it gave his mind something else to focus on, for the time being.

=^=

Tananka stretched and sat. She sniffled, rubbed her eyes, and met the soft gaze of Kathryn Janeway. “I’m… I fell asleep, didn’t I?” She glanced down, embarrassed by her show of emotion. “I’m so sorry. I don’t usually …”

“Cry on someone’s shoulder?” Kathryn supplied with an understanding smile. “Me neither, really. But you needed it.”

“I’m sorry,” Tananka smiled, sheepishly. “I probably got your uniform all wet and disgusting.”

Kathryn lightly laughed. “It’s alright.” She caught the girl’s hand in hers and gave it a quick, reassuring squeeze. “You never have to apologize to me.” She sat back and smiled a bit more broadly. “I received some news, while you were sleeping, that I thought you’d like to know.”

“Oh?”

Kathryn gingerly unfolded herself from the floor with a groan and reached a hand for her companion to stand, as well. “B’Elanna was taken to sickbay about forty-five minutes ago in labor, and is very likely making Tom regret every choice he’s made, in his life, that led him to this moment.”

Tananka laughed, then took a deep breath and turned serious. She pulled Kathryn into a warm and tight hug. “Thank you. No one’s ever cared about my feelings before.”

Kathryn blinked, in surprise, as she was pulled close, and only hesitated a moment before wrapping her arms around Tananka and returning the hug. “You’re welcome.” She rested in the hug for a few moments, then pulled away, and lay her hands on each side of Tananka’s face. “Never let anyone make you think your feelings are unimportant. Your father is doing the best he can, and I know he loves you.” She smiled and lowered her arms to her side, “He’s always been an open book where that particular emotion is concerned.”

Tananka lowered her head and smiled. She noticed the picture lying on the floor, where they’d been sitting, and bent to pick it up. She traced the lines on the holoimage, then turned to the woman next to her and openly regarded Kathryn, as if she was memorizing every curve and line of her face. Tananka caught herself and looked away with a muttered apology.

“It’s okay,” Kathryn smiled, “look all you want.”

“I was just thinking.” Tananka shrugged. “Can I tell you something?”

“Sure,” Kathryn replied.

“I hope this doesn’t sound strange, but,” Tananka brushed a hand over her hair, pushing it back off her face, “I’m glad you’ll be my mother.”

Kathryn’s breath caught for a moment and her smile broadened. “I’m glad, too. I couldn’t have asked for a better daughter.”

At this, Tananka’s lips curled into a very familiar, crooked, smirk. “Yeah, you may rethink that once Dad tells you about my other profession.” She lifted her arm to the back of her head and pulled at her hair.

Kathryn gave her a side look. “And that is?”

“I’m going to let him tell you,” Tananka said as she started to move toward the exit of her ship. “Are you hungry? I think it’s lunchtime.”

Kathryn rolled her eyes at the evasion and followed Tananka out of her ship. “I’m not letting this go.”

Tananka laughed happily, feeling better than she had in a long time. “Oh, let him tell you. He has so little joy in his life, and telling you this nugget of information will amuse the hell out of him.” She bounded ahead of Kathryn as they moved through the shuttle bay.

“I recognize that form of deflection!” Kathryn called as she quickly followed the young woman to the corridor of Deck Nine. “You really are my daughter,” she quietly muttered to herself, with no small amount of humor.


	9. Nightmares

Chapter 9

As preparations were being completed; plans formulated; and security measures taken, Kathryn sat at the desk in her ready room, re-reading the PADD the older Chakotay had brought. While it detailed his idea for getting past the Xelin, she didn’t like the idea that he would act as a decoy, in a shuttle. She knew that both men shouldn’t exist in the same time stream, but there had to be a way for him to survive, somehow.

For his daughter’s sake, if nothing else.

Then, there was Tananka. Kathryn glanced up, regarding the pair sitting on her couch. The young woman had stuck to her father like glue, once they’d both recovered from the stressful morning. After the emotional impact of the revelation of how she died, in the not-so-distant future, waned, the four of them sat together, in the early afternoon, and spoke openly and honestly, of what the repercussions of her death had been; Temporal Prime Directive be damned.

Kathryn knew that, if they were successful in getting home, now, that timeline would be very different, rendering the Temporal Prime Directive null and void. At least, in her mind, it did. She massaged her forehead and groaned at the ever-present temporal-related headache, then stood and moved to her replicator. “Does anyone want any coffee?” she asked the room’s other occupants. 

Both of the men shook their heads, indicating they didn’t want any, while Tananka stood and spoke: “I don’t like coffee, but I’ll take some unsweetened iced tea, please.”

Kathryn gave the girl a lopsided look as she approached. “You don’t like coffee?” She ordered the two drinks from the replicator and turned back to the young woman. “How are you my child?”

The older Chakotay nodded to his younger self and smirked as Kathryn handed the iced tea to Tananka. “Wait for it.” Both women drank, and the same, blissful, look passed over each of their faces. He turned to his companion. “There it is.” Both men laughed with amusement.

The two women looked at each other, then back to the couch. “What?”

The two men just shook their heads and grinned, innocently.

Kathryn grabbed the PADD from her desk and moved toward the couch, smacking the younger Chakotay on the shoulder as she sat next to him. “Stop it, both of you.”

Just as she activated the PADD, her combadge chirped. “Doctor to Captain Janeway.”

“What now?” She tapped her badge and responded: “Go ahead, Doctor.”

“I wanted to notify you that Lieutenant Torres has successfully delivered a baby girl.” They could now hear the baby crying in the background. “Mother and daughter are doing just fine. The father, however, may need some bones re-set in his hand.”

Kathryn laughed. “That’s wonderful news! When would be a good time for visitors?”

“Let’s give the new family a while to recuperate and then you may come to welcome our newest crew member aboard.”

She nodded. “Understood, Doctor. I’ll be down in a couple of hours or so, then.”

“Aye, Captain. Doctor out.”

Kathryn stood and nodded to her XO, “We should get to the bridge. If the two of you would like to stay here, you’re more than welcome. Or,” she glanced at the older Chakotay, “you know this ship. You’re welcome to go where you’d like.”

“I would like to go back down to make sure DaVinci is in top shape,” Tananka said as she stood. “I need to verify he wasn’t too damaged by the Cardassians.”

Kathryn nodded. “If you need anything, let me know. We’re good on supplies, right now. I’ll contact Engineering and let them know to let you have any materials you need.”

“Thank you,” Tananka said, appreciatively, and smiled warmly.

Kathryn returned her smile. “Do you need someone to help you with repairs?”

Tananka’s eyes slid to her father, and back, before hesitantly saying: “Maybe Uncle Harry, I mean, just Harry, if you can spare him? He helped design DaVinci.”

“He did?” Kathryn asked, with proud surprise in her voice.

“Nan,” Chakotay started, with a warning on his voice.

Tananka sighed. “I promise I won’t say anything, Dad. He might also be able to help me reverse the Temporal Displacement Device we used to get here.” She grinned with an open-armed shrug. “Then, maybe, we wouldn’t need the wormhole.” As she spoke, Tananka stepped backwards into the door sensor and they slid open. She backed out of the room and turned as the doors closed.

Kathryn chuckled and commed Harry to assist Tananka with whatever she needed. She then looked at the elder Chakotay. “She always like that?”

He nodded his head and grinned. “It’s part of her charm.” Kathryn laughed and went to leave. As she turned, he sobered and reached for her arm. “Kathryn.” She stopped at the tone of his voice and the pull of his hand, and looked up at the older Chakotay, waiting for him to continue.

“I don’t intend to let her come with me, you know that, right?” He dropped Kathryn’s arm. “I can’t, in good consciousness, take my daughter into what you and I both know is a one-way fight.”

“Chakotay,” she whispered, “what about the temporal paradox? How would that affect her timeline?” She glanced over the older man’s shoulders, to the younger man, as he moved to stand next to her, then back to the older, entreating gaze. “How would that affect,“ she gestured between she and her Chakotay, “our timeline?”

“I never intended for her to come with me,” Chakotay sighed, “but she’s stubborn and outwitted me at every opportunity.” He looked at them both. “Now, she’s here, and I will not sit back and watch another part of me die without doing everything I can to prevent it.”

Kathryn shook her head. “I’m trying to do everything I can do to prevent you dying, as well.”

Chakotay scoffed: “And what the hell do you think that will do to the timeline?” He gestured between himself and his younger counterpart. “We can’t both exist at the same time. 

“Kathryn, he has a point,“ the younger man spoke up, “we’ve already broken the Temporal Prime Directive quite a bit in the last two days. We can’t destroy it even further. The ramifications…”

Kathryn squeezed her hand across her forehead and shook her head. “I remember Ducane saying something about ‘integrating’ the two Braxtons, when he arrested his captain, but we still had the other one running around on Voyager.” She glanced at both men. “The one I ultimately arrested,” she spoke with her hands, as she normally did. “Could that possibly work, in this case?”

“And how would you achieve that, without the help of Ducane and DTI?” the younger Chakotay asked. “Do we really want them here?”

Kathryn gave off a heavy sigh, that sounded more like a growl, as she walked back to the upper deck of her ready room and sat down hard, on the couch. “It seems to me this whole thing warrants a visit from DTI.” She lay her head back with a groan and stared at the ceiling of her ready room, then looked up and gave the older man a mild glare. “You know how much I hate temporal anomalies,” she chided.

“Kathryn, I …”

She sat up and softened her expression, lifting a hand to the older man when he spoke. “I understand,” she said softly, “I do. It just complicates things a bit if our future daughter, who isn’t even a present thought, stays here.” Kathryn stood and moved to meet him by the steps. “She has her own life. She has friends, Chakotay, she’s an Academy graduate, in her own time. But, now, there’d be no record of her having gone. What would she do for a living?”

“What she’s always done: Survive. Explore, Scavenge, Scrape by ... live.” The older man looked between them both. “But, she’d be with parents who are alive and whole.”

“Parents who don’t know her,” Kathryn responded. “Parents who aren’t supposed to know her for another two years.” She looked to the other man, standing next to his double, with questioning eyes. “You know this is impossible, right?”

The younger Chakotay sighed, “Improbable, yes,” he shrugged, “but, impossible? Kathryn, we’ve encountered a lot of things, out here, that should be impossible. Look at Harry and Naomi, for instance. They’re both from a parallel universe.”

“That’s different,” she implored.

“But not impossible,” Chakotay replied.

She responded with a glare, aimed his way.

“Kathryn,” the older man interjected, “when I asked Ducane about Nan, he assured me that her life will change, for the _better_ , after some adjustment, but she’d still exist. I’d like to think that means he knew she would be following me and that she’d be staying here.”

Kathryn propped a hand on the railing she stood next to and pinched the bridge of her nose with the other. She sighed in defeat and looked at her Chakotay. “It’s not my decision, alone, to make and this is Kathryn speaking, not the Captain. What are your honest feelings?”

The younger Chakotay stepped to the railing and lay his hand over hers. “Is there really a decision to be made, Kathryn?”

Kathryn exhaled the breath she’d unconsciously been holding, pulled her hand from under Chakotay’s, and lay it atop his with a gentle squeeze. “I need another damned coffee.” She grinned when she caught the gentle smile and dip of the older man’s head. She moved past both men, on a trajectory for the replicator. “Don’t think you got off easy,” she told the older man, “you’re the one that’s going to break it to her.” 

He shook his head, “No. If I tell her, she’ll find a way to follow me.”

Kathryn turned, fresh mug of coffee in hand, “Chakotay, she’s an adult. She has a right to her own decisions.”

“Not this one, Kathryn!” the elder Chakotay snapped. 

Kathryn set her jaw and bit back the automatic response. She pointed: “You are telling her that she’s not going with you.” She started past him, for the bridge door. “I’m not above making it an order.” She stopped in front of him, lay a hand on his chest and spoke softly. “She’s your daughter, Chakotay.” She looked him in the eye, angrily. “Talk to her, dammit!” With that, she moved onto the bridge.

 

Tananka walked around the outside of her ship, surveying the hull for damage. She could hear Harry Kim’s footsteps, on the opposite side of the ship, as he did the same. She mentally noted the location of each scorch or gash, surprised at just how much weapons’ fire her ship took. “Damn, those Cardassians are better shots than I thought.”

“I don’t think it’s too bad,” the young man said as he walked back around to meet her. He smiled, “Shouldn’t take much to fix her.”

“Him,” Tananka smiled. “He’s named after Leonardo DaVinci. Not a girl.”

“Sorry,” Harry chuckled. He looked at the ship again, this time with an appreciative eye. “He,” Harry emphasized, ”looks a lot like the Delta Flyer.” 

She walked the back of the ship. “The design is similar, on purpose. We designated DaVinci as a Flyer Class-ship.” She winced at a fairly bad gash at the stern of the ship. “Oh, damn.” She pointed and spoke to her companion: “See, this is why I don’t let my dad fly my ship.” The damage very nearly penetrated the hull.

Harry moved to her side, so he could look at the gash. He chuckled at her comment, and started to retort, but he noticed a design feature on the bottom edge of the ship that he recognized. He stepped forward and drifted his hand along the angular curve he was very familiar with, then looked at Tananka with a shocked expression. “I designed this ship.”

Tananka looked sharply, then realized what he’d noticed; she honestly shouldn’t have been surprised he’d noticed it. That type of curve was his trademark, commonly referred to as the Kim Curve. She had no choice but to nod. “Yeah. You were one of his designers.” 

“One of?” he questioned.

She smiled, “Me and one other. I can’t,” she shrugged, “Temporal …”

“Prime Directive, I know,” he finished.

Tananka nodded. “Sorry.” She pointed to the hatch. “Let’s go inside and see if we can’t figure out the temporal displacement-thing that Dad and I used to get here. Maybe there’s a way to reverse it, so we wouldn’t need that wormhole.” She tapped a sequence on a control panel pad, located on the exterior hull, beneath and to the left of the hatch. The walkway descended and she bade the young ensign to follow her. Once at the top, she opened the door and moved inside.

Harry followed and looked around with a smile. He whistled in appreciation. “Nice!” He glanced to where she’d walked and joined her in the aft section. “He’s a fine ship.”

She smiled, “Gets me to where I need to be.” Tananka moved to the device that lay on the floor, leaning against her compact warp drive. She crouched and looked at the wiring. “This is what we used to open that rift,” she looked up as he approached. “I had to hook it up on the fly. We were attacked before I had a chance to figure out a way to even close it, let alone reverse the process.”

Harry crouched and gave the setup a quick once-over. “You know, this is more B’Elanna or Tom’s thing.”

 

Tananka grimaced. “Well, they’re both a little busy, right now,” she grinned. “You can do it, Un… er … Har … Ensign. What do I call you?” she chuckled.

Harry grinned, “What do you normally call me?”

She smirked, “Uncle Harry.”

He snorted nervously. “Just call me Harry.”

She nodded. “OK, Harry.” Tananka glanced back down at their puzzle. “I know you can do this. I’ve seen you put together many a console.”

He took a breath and concentration slipped over his face. “Okay, then. Let’s take a look.” Harry reached to pick up the device and tangled himself into one of the trailing wires, losing his balance. He fell back against the bulkhead and knocked something loose, behind him, which fell over his shoulder and into his lap.

Tananka was on her feet, instantly. “Harry, are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he groaned. His backside ached where he’d fallen hard on the muscles. “Only thing hurt is my pride.” He untangled himself from the wire and realized there was something furry, and a paper, on his lap. On clearer inspection, he realized what the items were, and that they were most likely private. He refolded the fur wrap on what was clearly a medicine bundle, and picked up the, he noticed, picture. “I think these are yours. I’m sorry for disturbing them.”

Because it was face up, he couldn’t help noticing the picture of two very familiar people, asleep with a baby. “Is that you?”

Tananka snatched the picture and her meditation bundle. “It is, yes.” She quickly placed the holoimage inside her bundle and set the item back inside its cubby. “We should get back to this,” she gestured at the device.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized again. “I didn’t mean to-”

She shook her head. “It’s okay. You tripped.” Tananka plopped back onto the floor and started to try to catalog wires and where they were attached. “I suppose it’s common knowledge, anyway, at this point. Who I am.”

Harry shrugged. “They won’t hear it from me, anyway.” He redoubled his efforts onto the device in front of them. “Let’s see what we can do with this.”

=^=

As she lay in her bed, that night, drifting off to sleep, Tananka’s senses suddenly sharpened. She sat straight, listening; the gentle thrum of a ship’s warp engines had always been a sound that put her to sleep, but she’d just heard an extra … something. Suddenly, a keening cry echoed in the silence and she knew what she had heard: her father was having a nightmare. It’d been a while since that had happened, and she flew out of her bed and rushed into his room.

“Daddy?” she called gently. She didn’t want to startle him, needlessly, and quietly edged toward the bed as the man on it shifted, restlessly. “Daddy, it’s me, Nanka.”

She approached carefully. Tananka knew, by experience, that she could not abruptly wake him. The one time she’d done that, she’d nearly ended up with a broken nose, as his defenses had kicked in and he tackled her. They’d ended up on the floor, with him straddling her small body, fist raised. Thankfully, something woke him, fully, and Chakotay realized where he was before he could truly hurt her. She’d never approached him the same way again.

“Daddy?” Tananka called again, softly, “wake up. It’s just a nightmare.” She carefully stopped at the edge of the bed and raised her arms, defensively, just in case. Chakotay still thrashed. “Dad!” she called again, more forcefully. She got through to him, that time, and he popped up quickly. Tananka stepped back, ready to dodge, when he looked at her with vague recognition. She relaxed when he gently said her name. “It’s me,” she whispered. “You had a bad dream.”

His arms suddenly wrapped around her, and she was pulled onto the bed and across his lap. “My Little One, I’m so sorry,” he sobbed into her neck as Tananka tightened into the embrace and fought her own rising tears. She wasn’t sure if he was quite awake yet, when his words poured forth. “I’m sorry I left you alone when you needed me. I’m so sorry for every little bit of affection you had to fight for. I’m sorry you’ve had to spend so much of your life taking care of me, when I should have been taking care of you. I’m sorry I was … am such a useless, damned father.” Once he’d started talking, Chakotay’s words came in a rush. She felt him gulp a breath and tighten his hold, even more, as if he was afraid she’d disappear on him, too. “I’m sorry for everything.”

She mumbled against his shoulder. “It’s okay.” Tananka clenched her eyes against fresh tears and turned her head into his. “I take care of you because I love you, you stupid pain in the ass.” She snuggled closer and leaned her forehead against his temple. “But, I’m glad I know what really happened, now,” she whispered, amid her own hitching sobs, “because everything makes so much more sense.”

“Nan ..” he started, but was stopped when her hand pressed against his lips.

“Shut up,” she told him, with a soft sharpness. “If you say you’re sorry one more time, I will scream.” Tananka sat back. “Look at me, Dad.” When he did, she pressed a hand on the side of his face. “Were you the best father?” She shook her head. “No. It was rough, right after … but, once we reached Earth, did I have everything I needed? Food, clothes, a place to live? Yes.” She sighed and moved her hand to his shoulder. “Did I have help with my homework? Yes. Did you ease me out of my own nightmares? Yes. Did you stand proud when I graduated from the Academy?” her voice hitched. “Yes.” Tananka moved back into his hold. “See? You may not have been the best father, but you were there when I needed you.” 

Chakotay cupped her face and brushed tears from her eyes, “I need to tell you something.”

She furrowed her brow and moved so she sat next to him. “Is it about your dream?”

He nodded. “It is.” He quickly wiped his face of the evidence of his tears. “Nanka, you can’t come with me, this time.”

“No, Dad-”

“Little One, I mean it.” Chakotay took her hand between his and held it tight, “I can’t lose you.” He shook his head. “I can’t lose anyone else.”

“What was your dream about?” Tananka asked, feeling a need to know what brought this on. “And don’t say it was nothing, or that I don’t need to know.”

“It started as all my dreams start.” He looked down and tried to shove away the images. “With your mother’s death.” Chakotay took in a deep breath and blew it out. “But, this time, it changed. You and I were in DaVinci. Voyager was following. We were nearly to the wormhole when the Xelin showed up. They were not alone.” He stopped for a moment, to catch his breath.

Tananka sucked in a breath when her father looked at her with dark, haunted eyes. “The Calderrans were with them.” She saw him visibly shudder. “The, uh … the Xelin destroyed Voyager. I heard a sound behind me and turned to find the m-man who killed your mother h-holding you. I had to watch ...” His voice shuddered and he reached again to pull her against him.

Tananka lay her head against his shoulder as he held her almost too tightly. “Daddy,” she whispered. “That’s not going to happen. We’re getting out of this space. This quadrant.”

Chakotay pulled her away and held her slightly forward, so he could see her face. “You’re getting out of this quadrant. I’m staying here, to assure you and Voyager make it through that wormhole.”

“No. Dad. You can’t. You won’t survive,” she argued.

“I never expected to survive this, Tananka. You knew that.” He returned: “There can’t be two of me.”

“There can’t be two of me, either!”

“Little One, there’s only one of you.”

“That’s semantics, Dad! I just haven’t been born yet!” She clamored away from him and stood at the side of the bed. 

He turned and slid his legs off the bed, “No, Nan. We changed the timeline.”

“What?” She gave a nearly high-pitched response. “How? You said I’d be born!”

He stood and faced her. “Tananka, you were born on Voyager, in two years, because your mother and I gave in and stopped waiting. This Kathryn and Chakotay are going to wait until they get home.”

“In a week!” she yelled, fear almost driving her anger. “There’s still time for me to be born when I’m supposed to be!” She turned as he moved past her, into the living quarters, and followed closely on his heels.

Chakotay turned. “A baby probably will be born, in two years,” his voice raised, “but she won’t be you!”

Tananka reared back as if he’d slapped her. “You son of a bitch! You lied to me!” She turned, fully intending to storm back into her bedroom, when she felt a hand on her arm stop her and roughly turn her around. She jerked her arm away and faced him, anger written clearly on her face. 

“I never lied to you, Nanka!” Chakotay angrily pointed out. “Ducane told me you’d still exist. With the changes to the timeline, because you followed me, the only way that happens is if you stay here! You’re meant to stay here.”

“And watch you die?” She laughed mirthlessly. “Oh, I don’t think so.”

“Nanka, I knew coming in that he would be the one coming home, not me.”

“Daddy, don’t do this to me.”

He took a deep breath. “I’ve already spoken to Kathryn and the other Chakotay. They’ve agreed.” He stepped toward her and his heart lurched a bit when she backed away, “Little One, I promised you’d have both of your parents back, and you do,” he finished with a whisper, “you will.”

She threw her arms up and slapped them back at her sides, “They’re not my parents!”

“They are, Tananka! They’re ...” he snapped out, then suddenly lost his fight. “They’re your mother and I before we married. Before we had you.” He walked to the couch and sat hard into its softness. “I don’t know how else to explain this, Tananka. I need for you to understand that you have to stay here. Let them be your parents.” Chakotay rubbed his hands over his face. “Let them love you.” He looked up as she moved to him, and followed her eyes as she sat next to him. “I’m tired, Nanka. I’m tired of living without your mother. Let me go to her, and you stay here, with them, and live the way you deserve.”

“They don’t know me, Dad.” She implored. “I mean, how is he going to react when he finds out I’m a smuggler.”

“I thought you insisted you were a scavenger. You’re admitting it now?” Chakotay turned to her with a slight grin. Thankful the conversation was turning.

“I ... “ she glanced at him from the corner of her eyes. “Might as well.” she acquiesced with a shrug. “Well?”

“Well, what?”

“How would you react … him … he, I’m confused.” She nudged his side with her elbow and smiled. She quickly wiped away a tear.

Chakotay lightly chuckled, “I don’t know. Maybe he’d find it amusing.” He turned to her a glint of amusement in his eye, “Maybe he’d even be your pilot.”

She snorted, “does he fly any better than you do?”

“Probably not.” Chakotay grinned. 

Tananka laughed, then suddenly a sob caught in her throat. “Daddy,” she turned and pulled him into her arms and cried against his shoulder. “It’s not fair. I don’t want to … ” The fight left her. She finally nodded after several moments, her decision made, and she sat back. “Okay,” she hiccupped and wiped her eyes. “I … I respect your decision and,” she closed her eyes. “I’ll stay here.”

Chakotay pulled her into a tight hug and held her. “Thank you,” he whispered against her ear. He felt her tighten the embrace and start to calm. After several moments of silence, he smiled softly when he heard her quietly ask a question that he hadn’t heard since she was eight years old.

“Daddy, can I go to sleep with you?”


	10. The Wormhole

“What if we combine Lieutenant Paris’ idea with Dad’s plan?”

Tananka stood at the end curve of the briefing room table. The morning meeting was in full swing, and Voyager’s senior staff was currently discussing plans and ideas for getting past the Xelin, in order to get to the wormhole. She probably shouldn’t be there, but, given her involvement, the leeway was given.

“Which idea was that?” Kathryn asked. She wanted to see exactly what kind of officer Tananka would have made; she had the schooling, and Kathryn wanted to see her put it to use.

Tananka glanced toward the Captain and gave her a slight smile. “Holographic allies.” She nodded toward the blonde pilot. “You mentioned using it, at some point. Did it work?”

“It did. For a time,” he answered, then sat forward. “But, if we make sure the emitters are harder to target, we could get more mileage out of it.”

Tananka nodded, then looked at her dad. “I can easily fit DaVinch with some cleverly-hidden holo-emitters while I do the repair work. Maybe work on upgrading his-”

“No,” the older Chakotay interrupted and shook his head. “I’m not taking DaVinci. He’s your ship and I won’t leave you without your livelihood.”

Her eyebrow went up and she leaned on the table, “Dad. He’s your best chance. You know the ship, you know the controls.”

“Tananka, whatever shuttle I take is not coming back,” Chakotay told her, resolutely. “I refuse to take your ship.”

She took a deep breath, stepped next to her father, and lay a hand on his shoulder. “I’m not going to give that statement the reply it so richly deserves.” Her lip quirked into a slight and quick crooked grin. The smile faded as she crossed her arms and stood straight. “But I’m certainly not going to send you out there without a way to survive and defend yourself. I can’t imagine anyone at this table would disagree with me.”

“You can take the Flyer,” Tom spoke up, with a glance toward his captain. When she nodded, he continued: “I just upgraded the weapons system, and it’ll be easy to load it down with emitters.”

Tananka raised her hand slightly. “I’ll help.”

Kathryn stood and slowly walked around the table. “It seems to me that we have a plan.” She glanced at Tom. “I want you and Tananka to start fitting the Delta Flyer with holo-emitters. Have B’Elanna help program some ships, to give us some cover.”

Harry sat straight. “We looked over the temporal device they used to get here and it seems to have been a one-use item. Neither of us could get it working again,” he shrugged, “Maybe B’Elanna might make something of it.”

“Perhaps I could look at it, as well,” Seven volunteered.

Kathryn nodded. “Sounds good.” She looked at Harry. “What about our sensors? Have you found the wormhole yet?”

A silent, tense beat was felt through the room when Harry gave a slight nod. “I think so, yes. A signature that could be it showed up on the latest sweep. Once we finish here, I’ll do another sweep of the area, to verify.”

Kathryn smiled, suddenly feeling lighter. “Good.” She clapped once and then moved to the head of the table. “Okay, people, you have your orders. Dismissed.”

As the room cleared of her officers, Kathryn regarded the two men who stayed behind. She looked at the older man: “You’ve spoken with her, I see.”

“I have,” he glanced down and then back up. “It wasn’t an easy discussion, but she understands and is staying.” 

“Is she, or is she making you think that?” Kathryn stepped closer and smiled. “If you need for us to keep Tananka occupied ...” she trailed off.

Chakotay shook his head. “She can be tricky, but I hope I’ve gotten through to her, this time. Right now, she’s in her element. I think she’ll be fine.” He stood and, with a nod, left the room. 

Kathryn watched the door close behind the retreating man and then turned to the younger one, who’d stepped up next to her. She smiled. “How are you feeling with all this?” She cocked her head slightly and sat on the table behind her. “We haven’t really had the time alone to talk about any of this, since the night they arrived.”

“I had a nightmare last night.” Chakotay pulled a chair out and sat. He fell silent for a moment, as he contemplated his words. He turned as Kathryn moved to sit next to him. “It wasn’t really your death the dream was about, but my reaction to it, or rather, his reaction.” He shifted and turned the chair slightly, to face the one she now occupied. “I woke up and then sought out my spirit guide.”

“Did she help?” Kathryn asked softly.

He leaned forward and sandwiched Kathryn’s delicate hands in his. “A little, yes. Now that we know what happened, his reaction makes a little more sense to me. I can’t imagine what that felt like. Just hearing it described was agonizing.”

Kathryn leaned forward. “Nothing is going to happen to me. Not this time.” She pulled one hand free and lay it aside his cheek. “We will make it home.”

Chakotay nodded. “You’re right,” he gave her grin, just barely enough to bring out his dimples. He brought her hand to his lips and pressed a light kiss to her knuckles. “But, I won’t rest easy until we’re at Earth’s doorstep.” He squeezed her hand and stood, pulling her up with him. “I have faith that you will get us home. I just... I no longer have trust in time.”

She nodded. “I can understand that.” Kathryn dropped his hand with an understanding smile. “You need something to lighten your mood. Maybe go down and see our newest crew member, for a bit.” She gestured to the door with her head. “I’ll head out to the bridge.” With a broad, joking grin, she told him, “You give that baby a hug from Aunt Kathy, Ok?”

Chakotay laughed. “I will do that.” He followed her out of the briefing room and left the bridge.

=^=

The corridor was quiet as Chakotay made his way to Tom and B’Elanna’s quarters. He reached his destination, tapped the chime on the door and waited for it to be opened. He had stopped by the mess hall first and gotten a plate of banana pancakes for B’Elanna. Tom had mentioned she hadn’t had the time to eat anything, so Chakotay thought he would bring her breakfast.

The door slid open and he stepped into messy living quarters. B’Elanna was seated on the couch, baby at her left breast, and PADD in her right hand. When she looked up and saw who it was, she set the PADD down and quickly reached for a blanket to cover herself. Chakotay shook his head. “That isn’t necessary.”

He moved to sit on her right and set the plate on the table. “I thought you could use some comfort food.” At her smile, he added: “What are you working on?”

“Thank you. I’m actually starving.” B’Elanna told him. “The captain asked if I could look into some holographic allies.” She gestured toward the PADD as she picked up the fork. “I was going over some formidable ship designs we’ve run across. You think the Xelin have heard of the Kazon?”

Chakotay chuckled and picked up the tablet, to flip through some of her choices. “Let’s hope not. What about the Hirogen?”

“Ooh! That’s a good idea!” Her eyes brightened at the thought. She swallowed the bite she’d spoken around and then regarded the man sitting next to her; a man she considered a very dear friend. “So, uh, what’s new with you?”

He laughed and stood to walk to the replicator. “I’m going to get some tea, do you want something? I’ll use my own rations.”

B’Elanna shook her head. “You probably used your rations for my pancakes. Don’t worry about it. I’ll take tea, too.” She shuffled the baby to her shoulder, over a blanket, to burp the sleepy infant. “Is he really you?”

He turned back to her, drinks in hand, and took a breath before nodding. “Yes. The DNA checks out.” He handed B’Elanna the cup and sat in the chair across from her. “He came back from the year 2402.”

“What about her?” She asked as she handed the baby to Chakotay, so she could properly redress and finish eating. 

Giving B’Elanna the privacy, Chakotay leaned and pressed a light kiss on the tiny-ridged forehead. “That’s from your Aunt Kathryn.” He heard the fork move and looked up. He nodded. “She’s his daughter, which makes her my daughter,” he hesitated for a moment, “and Kathryn’s.” He watched her for a reaction.

She laughed. “Are you expecting me to be surprised? I’m not.” She took another bite and chewed.

Chakotay smiled, then sat back and gently rubbed the dozing baby’s back. His smile faded, slightly, as he recalled that Tom didn’t survive to see the initial homecoming, either. B’Elanna must have noticed his change in expression because she asked him what was wrong.

He met her concerned eyes and shook his head. “I didn’t get much sleep last night. Dreams, nightmares.” He took a deep breath. “I’m not sure I like who I become without…” he trailed off. 

B’Elanna set her fork down and moved next to her friend. She sat on the edge of the table. “Tell me what happened, Chakotay.”

“I’m not going into details; he told us in private for a reason. But, her death was sudden, unexpected. Brutal.” He closed his eyes against the mental image he now had, as a result of the older man’s description. His throat tightened painfully as he choked back the anguish. When he spoke again, his voice was deep with emotion. “After Kathryn died, he left their daughter with you and Tom for two years.” He sat forward, “Two years, B’Elanna. Why would I do that?”

She shook her head. “You didn’t. He did.” She took Miral when Chakotay slid the infant into her arms and stood. She followed him with her eyes as he moved toward the couch and faced the viewports. “Look, Chakotay, he was clearly lost in his grief. He did the best he could for their child, at the time.” B’Elanna stood. “If something happened to Tom, I don’t know what I’d do. None of us knows until we’re confronted by it. Would I leave Miral with you, in my grief? I just don’t know.”

She followed him toward the ports as he contemplated the stars. “You love the captain, deeply. That’s not a hidden fact.” She stepped aside, to lay the sleeping infant in her carrier. “It honestly never has been.” She straightened, smiled and, adding a bit of levity to the conversation, she said: “Heck, according to Tom, you two practically jumped each other right on the bridge, not two minutes after you met.”

Chakotay turned and grinned. “If I recall, she was blocking me from punching your husband.” 

B’Elanna smiled. “I’ll grant you, in the beginning, he most likely deserved it. Still does, on occasion.”

He laughed lightly, thankful for the brevity, “She impressed the Hell out of me, B’Elanna. Right then and there, I knew I’d follow her to the end of the universe and back, without question.” He shook his head, and turned to sit on the couch. “That tiny woman just planted herself between Tom and me and didn’t flinch.” He smiled at the memory.

“You fell hard, didn’t you?” B’Elanna grinned. 

Chakotay smiled brightly and ducked his head. “Like a boulder.”

_Janeway to Commander Chakotay”_

He looked up and tapped his combadge, “Chakotay here, Captain.”

_Commander,_ her voice softened, _we’ve found our wormhole._

Chakotay responded to Kathryn. “I’m on my way. Chakotay out.” He closed the channel and met B’Elanna’s eyes. “I guess it’s real.”

He stood and pointed at her PADD, “Think it could be a bad omen to add a Borg Cube or two to our fleet?”

She crossed her arms and smirked. “Let’s not push it, okay?”

He gave her a grin. “I’ll see you later,” he said as he stepped to the door and made his exit. 

=^=

Kathryn turned at the sound of the turbolift doors opening. She smiled when Chakotay stepped in and moved to join the little group collected around Harry’s Ops station. She gestured to the older man in front of her, who’d also received her call, when they’d found the wormhole. “We need to make sure it’s a stable wormhole, today.”

“Kath-Captain,” the older man started, “it’s been studied ad nauseam, by my time. The data I gave you from the Calypso’s mission should prove it.”

“I’m not saying I don’t trust that data, Chakotay,” she countered. “You just have to realize that that’s several years into the future. We need to determine how stable it is in this timeframe.” She turned slightly. “Harry, is there any way to find that out without sending in a probe?”

Voyager was currently at an all-stop near the nebula they’d taken shelter in after the first contact with the aggressive aliens. Sending in a probe would certainly tip the Xelin off to their presence. In a perfect scenario, they’d be in and gone before the rock-like beings even noticed them.

The doors skidded open, again, and both Tom and Tananka entered. One moved to his helm and the other joined the group at Ops. “You’ll have quite the armada once Aunt B’Elanna gets them programmed,” she told her father as she wrapped an arm around his back and gave him a quick side-hug. She stepped away, set her hands lazily on her hips and asked, in general: “What’s up?”

Harry spoke up at that moment, responding to Kathryn’s previously-asked question. “No, Captain. We’re too far away from its apex to determine that. We’d have to get closer and that might give us away.”

“What are you trying to do?” Tananka asked, working to understand the conversation she’d just walked into.

“We need to make sure the wormhole is stable, in this time,” Kathryn explained. “Only way to truly do that is with a probe.”

“And you need a smaller ship that can get there without being seen. I’ll do it,” Tananka quickly caught on and volunteered.

“No!” Three voices quickly protested.

“Really?” Tananka said flatly, her brow flitting upward. “I’m a perfectly capable pilot.” She turned to her father. “And you know I can do this.” She stepped slightly closer and lowered her voice: “If I’m staying, I need to earn my keep. Let me do this.”

“Tananka, it’s too dangerous, regardless of who goes,” Kathryn tried to explain her objection. “We don’t want to show our hand too early.”

“I can get in and out, undetected,” she argued. “I’m good at that. DaVinci is built for that.”

“Just what kind of ruins do you explore?” Kathryn asked, straightening and looking at both father and daughter for an explanation.

With a look to her father, Tananka stood back and swung her arm toward Kathryn and her father’s double. She gave him a look that clearly passed the explaining to him.

He regarded her with a frustrated look and closed his eyes. He took a breath and told them: “Our daughter’s a smuggler.”

“A damned good one, I might add,” the young woman injected.

“What?” Kathryn looked surprised.

“That was my exact reaction when I found out, a few days ago,” the older man smirked.

The younger Chakotay stepped slightly closer. “That’s not going to continue once we’re in the Alpha Quadrant, right?”

Tananka looked at the three of them and deadpanned: “Well, I don’t see how. My best contact is currently just six years old.”

The elder Chakotay groaned with a humored snort. “Nan…”

When she noticed Kathryn start to say something, Tananka put up her hand. “Wait, we’re getting sidetracked. The point is, I can do it if you give me the chance. Um, Captain. Please.”

“Okay. You want to earn your keep?” Kathryn gestured toward her. “How? How will you get in there; drop off a probe; wait until you get its telemetry back; and then get back here, without being noticed.”

Tananka crossed her arms and thought. “How are they guarding the wormhole? How many ships?” She lightly paced. “Are they patrolling anywhere nearby?” She looked up at the tactical station, then back to Kathryn, “Do we know that information?”

Kathryn turned. “Tuvok?”

“I have noticed that a ship does pass within the three kilometers of the event horizon, every hour or so. The last one was approximately twenty-minutes ago, at thirteen thirty-five hours.” He tapped through more data. “There are three other ships in the vicinity, but they are moving away.”

“So that gives me an hour,” Tananka spoke up, deep in thought. “Depending on how long it takes for the probe to send back data, I can do that.”

“I still don’t like it,” Chakotay spoke from his place next to Kathryn. “At the very least, you shouldn’t be alone. I’ll go with you.”

The elder Chakotay quickly responded: “No!” He vehemently shook his head. “You have to be the one to get back to the Alpha Quadrant. It has to be me.”

“Look,” the young woman stepped in, “I won’t be alone. The Maestro will be with me. I’ll activate him to be my second pair of eyes.” She glanced at the floor then back up. “I can do this. We just need to figure out a way to keep them off my ass.” Her eyes lit up and, with a sharp intake of breath, she said: “Cloak!” Her eyes roamed as she thought. “Is there something here we could cobble together, to make a cloak for DaVinci?”

She paced wider, her mind now truly thinking, then she snapped her fingers and pointed to her father. “The Displacement device we used to get here! It’s unusable for time travel, again, but what if I figure out a way to use it to cloak my ship?”

“When you came through that rift, we detected chronitons. We don’t want to accidentally open another distortion,” Kathryn interjected.

“No, but when Harry and I were looking at it, it was depleted of those particles, which is why it won’t work again.” Tananka crossed her arms and stood wide as she thought: “We need tachyons, to get a good cloak.”

“We can use z-particles,” Kathryn quickly suggested.

“Z part-” Tananka questioned, then realized where the captain was going. “Yes! If we combine those with the tachyons, and maybe a little dash of chronitons.” She pointed. “Not much-”

“But, you can use that combination to make a shield matrix that surrounds the ship, which would effectively render it invisible to sensors,” Kathryn smiled.

“And the naked eye! Yes!” Tananka pumped her fist and smiled widely, then cocked her eyebrow. “Can I?” 

Kathryn sighed, knowing this decision would mean she was also going to release the probe. She nodded lightly. “Alright. I’ll assign Vorik and Yosa to help you. I want it tested thoroughly before you use it. And, I’d like to have the knowledge about the wormhole by twenty-one hundred, tonight.”

With a salute and a “Yes ma’am”, the girl excitedly started toward the Turbolift. Kathryn put her arm out and stopped her. “Tananka. I’m not testing you. I have full confidence in your abilities, as a possible member of this crew.”

Tananka nodded. “I won’t let you down. I promise.” With that, she stepped into the lift.

Kathryn turned and regarded both men standing in front of her and shook her head, slightly. “I’ve created a monster.”

The older Chakotay tugged his ear and chuckled. “To be fair, Kathryn, we created that monster twenty-one years ago.”

The younger Chakotay laughed and gave her shoulder a pat as he passed her and stepped down to his place on the bridge. 

=^=

At nineteen-hundred hours, the testing of the cloaking device was well underway and proceeding with a good amount of success. Tananka hadn’t been kidding when she said she was a good engineer. B’Elanna had joined the group later that evening, after having gotten her fill of the inside of her quarters. Kathryn glanced at the two men seated to her right, as they watched the small ship just off Voyager’s starboard bow. If this test worked, they’d give the go-ahead for the mission, itself.

_DaVinci to Voyager, I’m ready for the final test. I’ll try communications during the cloak, but my hope is that they won’t work.”_

Kathryn nodded, “Okay, DaVinci. You’ll cloak on my mark and stay cloaked for one full minute. We’ll try a hail at that time, too.”

_Aye, Captain. Ready when you are._

“Okay, Tananka, mark.” She sat back as the ship shimmered, then vanished, from their view. She turned, “Tuvok, is she on our sensors?”

“She is not, Captain.”

Kathryn nodded and turned halfway in her chair, “Harry? Anything?”

“If I didn’t know what I was looking for, ma’am, not a thing. But, I do have her signature for us.”

Kathryn faced front again and turned to Chakotay with a smile. “She is good.” She tried to hail the young woman’s ship and received no signal at all. She leaned to the right and softly spoke to both men, “To be honest, I didn’t think she could do it. Not in the amount of time I gave her. I’m damned impressed.”

The elder man smiled proudly. “That’s my girl.”

_DaVinci to Voyager. I think I’m good. You want to send me the probe and give me an ETA on that patrol ship?_

Kathryn turned to Harry and nodded that he should send the probe. “Probe is on its way, Tananka. We’ll give you an update on the ship in just a second.”

“The ship will pass the wormhole in approximately fifteen minutes,” Tuvok spoke up.

“Tananka, the ship will pass in fifteen minutes. Do you have it on your sensors yet?” Kathryn asked.

There was a pause, then: _Not yet … wait. There it is. Okay, I see it. I’ll wait until he passes back off my sensors and then head out. I just got the probe._

The elder man stood. “Nanka, I don’t have to tell you to be careful. I know you know what you’re doing. But ... “ he hesitated as he reached the railing behind the Helm, “be careful, Little One.”

_I will Daddy. Besides, this is a piece of cake compared to what happened on Rigel IV._

“I don’t want to know, do I?”

_Nope._ They heard her laugh _I’ll be be back before you know it, you old pain in the ass._

“Just come back safe, my little pain in the ass,” he told her, his grip on the rail tightening. He turned to Kathryn, to see if she had anything else to say.

She stood. “Tananka, don’t take any chances. Get in, deploy the probe, get out. Don’t de-cloak unless it is absolutely necessary and we can get there to back you up.”

_Understood, Captain. Don’t worry. I’ve got this. DaVinci out._ With that, the com was closed and they could do nothing but sit and wait.

 

Twenty minutes later, the DaVinci slowly pulled away from Voyager and started to make its’ way to the apex of the wormhole. Tananka cloaked once she left the security of Voyager’s shadow. Kathryn turned. “Harry, do your best to keep her on your radar.”

“Aye,” the young ensign agreed and boosted his signal, as much as he could, to follow the breadcrumbs they’d purposefully left for Voyager to follow.

The console next to her tapped on as Chakotay pulled the same sensors up on their panel. She glanced up at him with a concerned smile. The older man sat on the small platform, next to the xo’s seat, and sighed. “I wouldn’t worry overmuch. She can take care of herself. She’s a hell of a pilot.” He turned to look at the empty, star-filled viewscreen. “She’s reckless, I’ll give you that. But, when push comes to shove, Nanka’s focus will not waver.” 

 

Aboard the DaVinci, Tananka activated the cloak and steadily moved toward her destination. In the Nav seat, Leonardo kept his eyes on the sensor sweep, ready to notify her the moment either a Xelin ship approached, or they reached their destination. “Computer, play _Ride by ZZ Ward_.” The moment the song started playing, Tananka began singing along as she navigated the dangerous space.

On the third playthrough of the song, the Maestro called for silence. “Youngling, there’s a Xelin ship coming toward us.”

“Damn,” she straightened in her seat and stopped the engines. Tananka glanced at the nav panel and located the ship. “He’s on a thirty-four vector. I may be able to drop under him.” She angled DaVinci and dropped her altitude, hoping the ship would pass over her as if he were a boat on the surface of the ocean and she was a fish, lazily swimming beneath. “Now, we wait.”

Onboard Voyager, the ship had been noticed, as well. All eyes were on Tananka’s trail. Chakotay had noticed her tactic looked familiar and was impressed. He looked at his older counterpart, who grinned, “I’m not that bad a pilot. I might’ve taught her a trick or two.”

The tenseness grew as the ship drew closer to the DaVinci’s coordinates. Kathryn paced between Tactical and Ops. Chakotay turned to her. “Captain.” He smiled when she focused on him. “Coffee?” He was rewarded with a bright smile and a relieved ‘Please’. 

He moved to retrieve the hot drink from the replicator, in the alcove at the back of the bridge, near the turbolift door. Just as Chakotay was handing the cup to Kathryn, Tuvok reported that the ship was moving off and hadn’t noticed the smaller craft. He watched as his captain’s body literally dropped in relief. He lay a gentle hand on her shoulder and handed her the cup. “Go sit down,” he quietly suggested. “You’re stressing yourself out.”

Kathryn nodded as she took a drink of the soothing black liquid. She led as the pair moved back to the command level, and their respective chairs.

 

Back on board the DaVinci, Tananka whistled as the ship moved on. “That was too close for me, Maestro.” She scraped an errant chunk of hair away from her face and blew the rest of it away. “Let’s give it a bit before we set off, again.” She turned: “Do me a favor and get that probe set up. I want to launch it as soon as we reach our coordinates. I don’t want to be out here any longer than I have to be.”

While Leonardo did as he was asked, Tananka focused on moving into position. “Computer, continue music, volume at fifty-percent.”

Once they were close enough to the mouth of the wormhole, Tananka ran another full sensor sweep before taking the chance to decloak, just long enough to deploy the probe. This was the part of the mission she had been most concerned with, because she was at her most vulnerable. Thankfully, they’d programmed the probe’s telemetry to that of her cloak, so she would not have to remain fully-visible the entire time. Once the probe was free and into the vortex, she quickly re-cloaked and moved away slightly.

Back on Voyager, the mood had grown tenser once Tananka decloaked. Once she’d resumed radio silence, Kathryn turned to the aft bridge. “Anything?”

“So far, nothing.”

Kathryn sat deeper in her chair and grasped Chakotay’s wrist. “We may have pulled this off.” She smiled when he reached across and gave her hand a quick squeeze.

 

The rest of the mission progressed, as planned, and, true to her word, by twenty-one hundred, the senior staff - Tananka included - was in the briefing room. Kathryn was at the head of the table, summarizing their mission. She praised those involved; the creation of the cloak, as well as the deployment of the probe. “I know you’re all waiting to hear the news,” she smiled. “The wormhole is stable, and it does lead to the Gamma Quadrant, as assumed. What little we could get from the exact location in the Gamma Quadrant does help us to pin-point exactly how far it would be to the Bajoran Wormhole.” She glanced to the end of the table. “Seven, I’d like you to help decipher that. If you need to regenerate, please do that, first.”

The blonde nodded. “This would be more of a priority, Captain. I’ll regenerate when I have completed this task.”

Kathryn nodded, knowing she wouldn’t win that argument. “Okay, people. Good job, tonight. Let’s all get a good night’s sleep. Dismissed.” She glanced at the older Chakotay and gave him a smile. As everyone filed out of the room, she moved to him. “Stay for a moment.”

Once they were alone, she reached for his hand and threaded her fingers through his. “I don’t know how to thank you for getting us home.”

He shook his head. “No, Kathryn. I’m getting _you_ home.” He smiled softly. “The rest of Voyager is just the bonus.”

She smiled and reached to cup his cheek. “Thank you, all the same.”

He disentangled their hands and wrapped her into a tight hug. “Just live, Kathryn. Live and be happy.”

Kathryn choked back a sob as she closed her eyes and leaned against his shoulder. “I wish you could, too,” she whispered.

“I’m going where I need to be. I welcome it,” he softly told her. “Tonight, I will have a final dinner with my daughter, and tomorrow,” he sighed. “Tomorrow, I will be with my Kathryn.”

She pulled away and wiped her eyes. “Chakotay, I’ll never know what I did to deserve to know and to love a man like you.”

He shrugged. “Only the Gods know.” He pressed a light kiss atop her head. “For me, it was simply that you were Kathryn Janeway.”

“You always were a flatterer.” She blinked away the tears that threatened. “I will do everything in my power to keep you as safe as possible, for as long as we can, tomorrow.”

He shook his head, “No. You do everything you can to keep our daughter on this ship and get home. I’ll keep the Xelin at bay, for as long as I can.”

She whispered his name, again, and moved back into his arms. They held each other for several moments more, before silently parting and exiting the room.


	11. The Battle

The Mess Hall was bustling as Chakotay finished his breakfast. He’d left the guest quarters he shared with his daughter quietly, in hopes that he wouldn’t wake her. Having said all he needed to say to her, the previous night, he was hoping to get off the ship without her knowledge. Was it cowardly? Yes. Was it typical of his relationship with her? Yes. But, he was damned sure he didn’t want her following him. He’d take her anger, but he couldn’t take her death. If only she hadn’t followed him here, he wouldn’t have had to worry.

Chakotay took another drink from his cup when someone sat down, opposite him. He focused and realized it was his younger self. “Morning.”

“How are you feeling, this morning?” his doppelganger asked.

He smiled. “Peaceful. For the first time in years.” Chakotay sat back and looked up at the stars over his companion’s shoulder.

The other man returned his smile and said, after a moment’s hesitation” “You know you don’t have to do this. We’ll find another way.” 

His gaze moved back down to the younger face: hair still black, but with the silver starting to show through; the lines of his tattoo still dark; no pain in his eyes. He inhaled deeply. “Yes, I do. And I should do it, soon.”

Dark eyes met dark. “What about Tananka?” 

Chakotay glanced down at his cup. “She’s sleeping. I’d prefer to be gone by the time she wakes. It’ll be easier.”

“So you’re abandoning her, again?” the younger man accused.

Chakotay sighed. “It’s for her own good. She’d follow me, otherwise.” He felt bad enough about doing it this way, and the last thing he wanted was for his own self to argue with him.

“Was it for her own good, to leave her when her mother died?”

And there it was; the younger man had finally said what he’d clearly been wanting to say for some time. He took a generous drink of his tea and set the cup down. “I’m not proud of that. But, at the time, I was too emotionally crippled to take care of myself, let alone a four-year-old.”

“How did you get this ship home?”

Chakotay rubbed his forehead. “Tuvok took command, in the aftermath,” he explained. “I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep. I simply ceased to function. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw …” He shook his head. “I was in a living nightmare I couldn’t break free from. My child didn’t need to see that.”

“I can understand a few months,” the man opposite him said. “I don’t know how I’d react if something happened to my Kathryn; but, two years?”

“Once the Doctor let me out of sickbay,“ Chakotay explained, “I took quarters on deck twelve, because I couldn’t bring myself to go back to the one we shared. I had no idea what to do, because my equilibrium was simply gone,” he confessed. “Tananka was much better off with two people who could give her the love she deserved.”

He paused, then continued: “After a while, I rejoined the land of the living.” He shrugged. “Well, not really. I took over command of Voyager, but refused to take it, permanently. I never assumed the rank of Captain. Starfleet bestowed it on me, later. Voyager was Kathryn’s ship, and she always would be.” Chakotay took the final drink of his tea. “I simply walked through my days, did everything on automatic.”

“Then Tom, Tuvok, and Seven died on an away mission. B’Elanna dropped six-year-old Tananka off in my quarters, with her things, and told me in no uncertain terms that she couldn’t do it anymore.” He shuffled, feeling discomfited at the memory. “It was at that moment I took a long, hard look at myself and started to try to get my shit together. For my daughter, if for no one else.”

The younger man simply nodded. “I can’t fathom ...”

“And I don’t want you to have to.” Chakotay interrupted with a slap of his hand on the table. “Let’s get you to that wormhole, so you won’t.”

The other man nodded and helped his older counterpart to a stand, and the two walked through the mess hall, on their way to the shuttle bay, to meet Kathryn.

=^=

In her darkened bedroom, Tananka stirred and woke. She asked the computer for the time and, once it was given as 0832, jumped from her bed. “Dammit!” she muttered as she rushed into the living area. “Dad, why did you let me oversleep?” Her call was met with silence. “Dad?” Her heart lurched. She rushed into his bedroom and found it empty. Quickly, she yelled: “Computer, where is Captain Chakotay?”

_Captain Chakotay is in the shuttle bay, along with Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay._

As the cold voice responded, Tananka rushed back into her bedroom to throw on regular clothes. “You are not doing this to me, Dad.” She quickly stepped into a pair of jeans, and reached for a T-shirt, when she stubbed her toe on the leg of the bed. “Ow! Gods dammit!” Once dressed, she hobbled into the living room and threw on her shoes. Within five minutes of waking, she was running down the corridor.

Tananka impatiently stopped at the turbolift doors and cursed them as she waited for the car. Once they opened, she rushed in and ordered” “Deck Nine”, before the doors had even closed. She tapped her feet as the lift ride felt like forever and growled with a sigh: “Computer, are they still there?”

_Please restate the …_

Tananka closed her eyes and squeaked in frustration. She bolted as soon as the doors slid open. "Is Captain Chakotay still in the shuttle bay?" she huffed as she ran.

_Affirmative_

She ran faster, desperately trying to stave off her tears. The closer Tananka drew to the shuttle bay, the angrier and more upset she got. She stopped and tapped the entrance code of the bay and stormed in.

Her relief at seeing the room’s three occupants still standing in front of the Delta Flyer nearly dropped her. “You Godsdamned, stupid, petaQ,” she yelled as she rushed closer to her father. “How dare you leave here without telling me!” She stopped in front of him and punched his shoulder in anger. “Why would you do that to me?”

Chakotay sighed. “I didn’t want you following me, Tananka.” 

She just got angrier. Tananka drew both hands up and clawed, as if she didn’t know whether to strangle him or punch him again. She settled for hitting his shoulder a second time. “I promised you …” she forced out, through tears she couldn’t stop.

“You’ve promised me before, Little One,” he dodged as she pulled her arm back again. “Don’t hit me again.” Admittedly, though, he did deserve it.

She checked herself and balled her hands into fists in front of her chest, then intoned in a steady, low voice: “You’re lucky I don’t have a phaser set to kill on me.” She shook out her frustrated anger with a growl. Tananka took a deep breath and willed herself to calm, as she angrily brushed away the wetness on her cheeks. “I meant it, this time,” she told him. “I understand the gravity of the situation and why I can’t … go.” She reached forward and lay a hand on his chest, whispering with a sad, breaking voice” “I don’t want my last memory of you to be you running away from me, like you’ve always done.”

He closed his eyes to her pain and pulled her close, tucking her head against his chest. “I’m so sorry, if that’s what you thought. It was never my intention, my Little One.” He held her tight and lay his cheek atop her head. “It was me I was running away from; never you.”

Her reply was muffled in his hold: “What the Hell do you think you’re doing, now?”

“Okay,” he conceded, with a hint of humor in his voice, “you have me there.”

Tananka gave his back another squeeze of her arms before lifting her tear-stained face to his. “I don’t want to lose you.” Her voice was heavy with ache.

Chakotay brushed the tears away from his daughter’s face. “You’re not really losing me.”

She glanced aside, to the younger man, and back. “He’s not you.”

“He is me, Nanka. Just a few years younger,” Chakotay tried to explain, when Tananka rolled her eyes at him.

“I know that,” she glared lightly. “You know what I mean.” She snapped: “He’s not _you_ , you stupid idiot.” She clenched the hand still held at her father’s chest. “He didn’t tuck me in at night and tell me stories, when I had nightmares. He didn’t get pissed at Captain Q’uil, when the idiot refused to endorse my application to Nova Squadron.”

“I’m sorry…”

“Stop saying ‘I’m sorry’ or I will find a damned phaser.”

Chakotay lifted his hands in surrender and gave her a smile. He lay them on each side of her face and pulled her in to kiss her forehead. He whispered softly: “I need to go.”

Tananka tightened her hold on him, again, momentarily, before shifting to pull away. She nodded and clenched her eyes closed. “I love you, Daddy.”

Chakotay closed his eyes and nodded. He then made a quick decision and reached to his neck, to pull a chain with a small, gold ring on it, from beneath his shirt. “I want you to have this, Nanka.”

She reached to take it. “What is it?”

“It’s,” his breath hitched, “it’s your mother’s wedding ring.”

Tananka gasped and looked to her father’s face. “How do you have this? I thought she …”

He shook his head. “We never wore our rings, on duty. Our marriage ceased to exist the moment we stepped on the bridge,” he explained. “But, after that … day,” he glanced at her, then at Kathryn, “I put them on and never took them off again.”

Tananka shook her head and started to hand the ring back. “I can’t take this. You need to keep it.”

“No,” he draped the chain over her neck. “I want you to have it. Your mother would want you to have it.” 

She reached to grasp the chain as her tears started anew. “Daddy …” she clasped her hand over her mouth to contain the sob. She felt a soft touch at her shoulder and realized the other man had stepped up behind her, to offer his support. She saw her father’s eyes look up to, presumably, meet his double’s, then nod. She knew, then, that the decision was made, and that her father was leaving right away. She broke from the hold and pulled her dad in for a final goodbye. “I will never forget you, you crazy, old, pain in the ass.”

Chakotay chuckled through his tears and held her tighter, “I love you, daughter of mine.” He moved away and glanced up to see that Kathryn had joined his younger self, behind Tananka. His gaze moved back to hers. “Behave, or I will kick your ass in your vision quests.”

“I’m an angel.”

He leaned, “they don’t know you like I do.” He pressed a fatherly kiss on her lips, then straightened to look over her shoulder, at the two who he’d come back to save. He reached and lay a hand on Kathryn’s cheek, pressing lightly before lowering it. He gave her a soft smile and turned to his double, holding out a hand for the man to shake. “You take care of our two warrior women.” With a last brush of lips against his daughter’s head, he pivoted and walked to the Flyer. At the hatch, he turned and saw the three standing together, holding each other. A family. He smiled. All was right in his universe, now. With a final wave, he said: “Now, let’s get you to that wormhole,” then stepped into the small ship.

Tananka straightened and pulled in her emotions. “I could use the cloak on DaVinci to give him as much help as I can.”

“You are not leaving this ship, Tananka,” Kathryn told her in a steady voice. “I won’t make it an order, but, if I have to, I will.”

She blew out her breath, resolutely. “I know. I just,” she shrugged. “I don’t like feeling helpless.” She took one last look at the Delta Flyer and then angled to look into the face of, well, her mother, and gave her a small smile.

Kathryn glanced at Chakotay and nodded toward the door. “Let’s go to the bridge. We can do more to help him, there.”

He agreed and, with his hand on Tananka’s upper back, guided the two out of the shuttle bay.

=^=

The turbolift opened to the bridge and its three occupants stepped out. As she walked past Tuvok, Kathryn told him: “Once the Flyer is launched, I want you to keep him on your sensors. If he starts taking too much fire, too early, we need to jump in and help. I want him out there as long as possible.” She followed both her first officer and Tananka down, and up, to the command level of the bridge. “Harry, do not take your eyes off those sensors. Watch for those ships.” As she sat, Kathryn called for a yellow alert. “Tom, as soon as he launches, and activates his fleet, blend in and start moving toward that wormhole.”

Tananka took the small seating platform, to the left of the captain’s chair. She turned to her right, “Can I do something?”

Kathryn understood the need to be useful, but there honestly wasn’t anything for the young woman to do. She took Tananka’s hand and gave it a light squeeze. “You did your part, yesterday. There’s nothing else to do.”

“I can’t just sit here,” Tananka whispered, with a pleading look.

Tom turned and gave a quick look at his captain before turning his attention to the tense girl, next to her. “Hey, Tananka, you wanna help me keep up with the course corrections?” He glanced at the empty Engineering station. “You can grab the chair from there.”

She quickly turned to Kathryn, who nodded. “Thank you.” She retrieved the chair and set herself down next to Tom. He gave her a quick overview of the helm console and then let her have access to the left half of the conn.

It wasn’t much longer than twenty minutes when the first Xelin ship appeared, and began to move toward what it perceived as a threat. Kathryn took the ship to Red Alert and contacted the Delta Flyer. “It’s showtime, Chakotay.” She stood. “Hold them off as long as you can. We’ll give you as much cover as we can, until we get to the wormhole.”

_Aye Captain._

Kathryn felt her Chakotay move behind her and turned to him. She gave him a serious look and squeezed his upper arm, before moving to the railing. “Tom, Tananka, stay within the ships in his holographic fleet. Hopefully, we can sneak through without taking too much fire.”

Voyager inched closer to the vortex as the Delta Flyer advanced. Abruptly, the Xelin ship that had been following opened fire on one of the external ‘ships’ in their armada. Thankfully, the holograms had been programmed to react as if they were solid vessels.

“Tuvok,” Kathryn turned, “is it possible to return fire, but make it look like it came from the Kazon ship?”

“We would have to change our heading, and that could potentially expose us earlier than intended,” the Vulcan responded.

“Captain,” Harry spoke up, “a second Xelin ship has shown up.”

“Damn,” Kathryn muttered. “Voyager to the Flyer,” she hailed. When he responded, she explained that they had another ship incoming and needed to move faster.

_You do what you need to do, Kathryn. I’ll take care of everything here. Just get home safely, Voyager. Godsspeed._

“May you find what you’re looking for Chakotay,” Kathryn told him. “Thank you, for everything.”

“I love you, Daddy,” Tananka spoke up.

_Love you too, Little One. Now, get going. Chakotay out._

“Tom,” Kathryn said, hesitating a moment. “When those ships start concentrating on the Flyer’s fleet, break away and make best speed to the Gamma Quadrant.”

Voyager’s pilot nodded. “Best speed, yes ma’am.” He turned to the girl sitting next to him. “Ready?”

She nodded, tightly, terror knotting in the pit of her stomach. She knew what was about to happen and tried to push away the thought. 

“Now, Tom,” Kathryn ordered. 

Lieutenant Paris turned and gave his companion the course setting. Once she’d input it, he tapped the helm and sent Voyager on its’ way. They still had a good fifty kilometers to go before they reached their destination. 

Suddenly, the ship lurched beneath them. Kathryn stumbled before regaining her footing. “Who’s firing at us?”

“Captain, a third ship has appeared off our port side.”

“Shields are holding,” Tuvok reported. “Returning fire.”

“Tom, faster.”

“Aye captain. Increasing speed.” He gave Tananka another set of numbers and waited for her signal.

The deck shifted as they were hit again. “Tuvok, aim for their weapons and fire.”

=^=

Aboard the Delta Flyer, Chakotay was running out of options, fast. All but one of the holo-emitters had been disabled, leaving him exposed to the deadly weapons. He’d seen Voyager pull away and hoped, beyond all hope, that they’d make it through. The ship rattled and the console behind him erupted in sparks and smoke. He couldn’t take many more hits; his shields were nearly gone, and the warp core was losing containment. Suddenly, he felt a soft touch on his shoulder. He turned and couldn’t choke back the sob. Kathryn. His Kathryn. Laugh lines around her eyes; hair a silvery-white and flowing freely over her shoulders. She reached out a delicate, lightly-age-spotted hand, and waited for him to take it. _It’s time for you to come home, my love,_ she softly told him. He settled his hand in hers, and moved into her arms as the Delta Flyer came apart around him.

 

On Voyager’s darkened bridge, a bright flash suddenly flared on the viewscreen, starboard side of the ship. It could only have meant one thing.

“Captain,” Harry said around a lump in his throat, “the Flyer has…”

She turned quickly. “Harry…” she gave her head a light shake. “Just keep an eye on the enemy ships.”

 

Ensign Kim clamped his mouth shut and nodded.

Tananka stopped moving and sat staring at the viewscreen. For a moment, her breathing ceased. Then, she suddenly slapped a hand over her mouth and dashed toward the ready room. Anywhere where she could be alone.

Both Kathryn and Chakotay started toward her. Kathryn nodded to Tuvok to open the doors to her office for the girl, but was surprised when she tapped in a code and the doors slid open for her. Another sharp jolt pulled Kathryn into the present. “Tom, how close are we?” They would mourn the man, later; now, they would finish his mission. 

“Ten kilometers.”

“Get us in there, now!” She turned: “Tuvok, keep firing until we can no longer safely do so.”

“Aye.”

“Thirty seconds until we reach the event horizon.”

As Kathryn stood, listening to Tom call out the seconds until they were home free, she thought about the sacrifice the older man had just made. 

“Five seconds,” Tom continued counting, just as the ship was thrown abruptly to the side and the bridge erupted in chaos.

Kathryn was thrown against the railing, near the upper-level steps. She quickly scrambled upright, rubbing her shoulder. “What the hell did they just hit us with?” 

“I do not know,” Tuvok intoned, “but our shields are down.”

“Hit them with everything we’ve got!” she ordered, then turned. “Tom, anytime!”

Just before Voyager cleared the event horizon, one of her photon torpedos slammed into the attacking vessel and crippled it. Now, the scrappy, Intrepid-class starship barreled down the maw of the vortex and, within four minutes, was mercilessly spat out on the opposite side.

Once the ride settled and the ship righted itself, Kathryn pushed herself up from the deck and onto her hip. “Where are we, Harry?”

After a moment, he responded with a happy cadence to his voice. “We’re in the Gamma Quadrant, Captain.”

She nodded, glanced over her smoking and hissing bridge with concern, and snapped “Damage report!” to anyone who would listen. In a calmer voice, she said: “Is everyone okay?” She looked to her right and was relieved to see Chakotay sit and reach for her. “I’m okay,” she quietly reassured him, as she took his hand.

Kathryn let Chakotay pull her to her feet as the damage reports came in. She thanked every spiritual figure she knew that there had been no serious injuries. Oh, there had been injuries, but nothing life-threatening. Voyager herself was a little worse for wear, but she could be repaired. As soon as she was in her chair, Kathryn called Seven and asked for a report on their location, and a course they needed to set for the Bajoran Wormhole; a ride she knew would be much smoother.

Now that ship’s business was settled, Kathryn directed her attention to the closed ready room doors. She turned to the man sitting next to her. “I’m at a loss as to which of us is more appropriate to go to her.

“She’s just lost her father,” Chakotay said quietly. “I may be too much of a reminder.”

Kathryn nodded. “True.” She squeezed the warm, comforting hand that she’d just realized she’d been holding since she’d taken it earlier. “I’ll go. You get the report from Seven and start us on our way, once we get coordinates.”

He nodded and gave her a smile of encouragement. “Contact me, if you need me.”

“I will,” she told him and left the bridge.

=^=

Kathryn stepped through the doors to her office and sought out the person she knew, well, hoped, was in there. She was. Tananka was sitting on the couch, arms wrapped around her knees, at her chest, and staring at the stars.

As she walked to the young woman, Kathryn took in the state of her ready room: plants were on the floor; her comms terminal was at the foot of the stairs; a statue had fallen over and broken. Those, she could fix. Tananka, on the other hand, might be a different story.

Kathryn walked up the stairs and set a plant back on the table at the end of the couch. She turned and looked at the young woman. “Sorry about the bumpy ride.” She sat in front of Tananka and turned to face her. Kathryn propped her elbow on the back of the couch and leaned her hand against her cheek. “We’re in the Gamma Quadrant.” Kathryn smiled softly. “I thought you’d like to know.”

Tananka nodded, then resumed watching the stars. Kathryn continued watching her. After a few moments of silent contemplation, Kathryn asked: “Were you thrown around much?”

Tananka sighed, as if she wanted to be left alone. She shrugged. “I hit my head on the table,” she lifted her hand to rub the spot on the side of her head. “But, I’m okay.”

Concerned, Kathryn scooted closer. “Let me look at it.” She reached as Tananka dodged her touch.

“I said I was okay.”

Kathryn dropped her arms to her lap with a sigh. “Alright. If it starts to bother you, go see the Doctor.”

“I don’t need a mother right now,” the young woman snapped. 

Kathryn locked her hands together. “You’re twenty-one years old, not ten. I know you don’t need a mother.” She started to reach to brush an errant lock of hair from Tananka’s face, but checked herself. “You need a friend.”

“What I need is to keep busy. Repair DaVinci and figure out where I’m going to go from here.”

“You are more than welcome …” Kathryn’s statement was interrupted when her door chimed. “That’s probably Chakotay with the system reports. Will you be okay … with him?”

Tananka waved her arm. “I’m not a delicate flower.”

With a snicker, Kathryn replied: “You are definitely not.” She turned and called for the doors to open.

Chakotay strode in, PADD in hand. “It could have been a lot worse,” he said, waving the tablet as the doors slid closed behind him. “There are stress fractures on the outer hull, in the aft sections of Decks Six, Ten, and Twelve. Interior bulkheads are holding just fine, in those sections.”

Tananka shifted and rested one leg on the couch and placed the other on the floor. “I can leave, if you need to talk business.”

Kathryn shook her head. “Stay here as long as you need.” She got up and met Chakotay at the steps. She led him to her desk as he continued to apprise her of Voyager’s current situation. “What about casualties,” she asked as she leaned against the edge and crossed her legs at the ankles.

He shook his head. “Nothing more serious than broken limbs.” He quirked his lips. “I know you were worried about that.” He gave her arm a light squeeze when she smiled gratefully.

“Aside from the hull fractures, how is Voyager?” she asked.

“We’ve got damaged conduits and consoles, all over. Engineering has their work cut out for them.” He tapped on the PADD and handed it to his captain. “All in all, as I said when I came in, it could have been a lot worse.”

Kathryn started to read the report and recognized the writing. “I hope B’Elanna wrote this from her quarters. If not,” she tapped Chakotay on the shoulders with the tablet as she started past him, “court marshall her, please.”

Chakotay laughed as he followed her to the second level of her ready room.

Kathryn stopped in front of Tananka and then sat next to her. “ I’ve seen your work in the last couple days and I like it.” She smiled. “You fixed my damned replicator and that, alone, is a feat I’ve been trying to accomplish for seven years.” Kathryn glanced up at Chakotay and then back to the young woman. “You want to keep busy? Engineering could use all the help they can get. What size are you?”

Kathryn set the PADD down on the table, stood after getting the sizing information, and walked to the replicator. She entered a series of codes into the computer, to switch it from a food replicator to a material one, and replicated a gold-shouldered Ops uniform and boots. She handed the folded-up clothing to Tananka. “You want to be part of this crew? Go put this on. There’s a head just outside the corridor doors, where you can change.”

With a grateful smile, Tananka reached for the clothes. “Really?”

Kathryn nodded. She gestured to the doors. “Go. Then come back here for your orders.”

“Thank you.” Tananka started to move, then stopped and hesitated only for a moment before pulling Kathryn into a warm hug. She pulled away abruptly, having remembered where she was. “Sorry, Captain. Thank you. I’ll go change.” She scrunched her face and then rushed out of the back doors of the room.

Chakotay gave a slight grin. “She’s going to be alright.”

Kathryn smiled. “That she is.” She took a deep breath and blew it out. She paused for a moment, then turned to the stars. “We’re in the Gamma Quadrant.”

Chakotay stepped up behind Kathryn and lay his hands on her shoulders. He gently massaged the knots he could feel and then hugged her back to him. “According to Seven, it will take us a little over two days to get to the other wormhole, and Deep Space Nine.” He felt the slight body against him drop nearly an inch as she physically relaxed. 

Kathryn turned in Chakotay’s arms and lay her hands on his chest. “Two days from home, “ she whispered as the magnitude of it hit her. “Two days,” she repeated again as if she didn’t believe it was real.

Chakotay pulled her in and wrapped his arms tight around her. “You did it,” he said quietly against the top of her head. He would hold her for as long as she needed it. Honestly, he’d hold her forever, but they still had work to do. 

Kathryn gave the man in her arms one last squeeze and pulled away. “No, we did it.” She quickly wiped away the evidence of her tears and breathed deeply. “But we’re not home, yet. God knows what this quadrant can throw at us for two days.” She moved back to the replicator and replicated the one last item she needed, then, reset it back to food production and ordered herself a coffee. “Do you want a tea?”

He shook his head as she offered. “Let’s hope they wait at least until we’ve repaired the shields.”

She smiled and started to respond when the doors slid open and Tananka returned in full uniform. Her smile widened. “You wear it well.”

Tananka approached. She tucked the chain that contained her mother’s ring into the turtleneck, held her arms open, and grinned. “Dad would be amused.”

Chakotay smiled. “He’d be proud.”

“Thanks,” her grin broadened as she took the compliment.

Kathryn stepped forward and open the small box she held. She took the single gold pip out and placed in on Tananka’s collar. “I hereby bestow, on you, the field rank of Ensign.” She backed away, crossed her arms and smiled. “Now, Ensign Tananka, report to Lieutenant Carey in Main Engineering.”

“Aye Captain,” Tananka saluted and grinned. She turned serious as she looked at both of, well, her parents. That’s going to be weird for a while. “Thank you,” she looked down at herself, “for doing this.” Her gaze moved back to the two in front of her. “Otherwise, I’d be sitting in the mess hall, diving into some misery food and booze, and I know Dad wouldn’t want that.”

“No, he wouldn’t,” Kathryn said as she reached for the young woman’s hands. “He wanted the best for you, you know.”

Tananka felt her throat constrict as she fought the emotion. “What he wanted for me,” she whispered around the tightness, “was this.” 

Kathryn felt Chakotay’s hand on her upper back and glanced up at him. She squeezed the hands she held and dropped them. Kathryn lay her hands aside the girl’s cheeks. With a warm smile, she assured: “We will both be there for you, in whatever capacity you wish.”

“Thank you,” Tananka sniffled, then pulled back. “I need to stop this and go to work.” She smirked. “I hear the Captain is a real taskmaster.”

Chakotay snickered. “I’ve heard that, too.” He huffed as Kathryn elbowed him in the stomach.

“She is, and if you both don’t get to work, there will be Hell to pay,” she smirked. 

With an ‘Aye Captain’ each, both started for the doors; Tananka left through the corridor, and Kathryn followed Chakotay out onto the bridge, once she’d placed a call to Engineering, to apprise them of their newest crewmember.

 

Kathryn settled into her chair on the bridge and sat back into it's by now, comfortably-worn depth and breathed a deep and relaxing sigh. They were just two days from home. It was a difficult concept to wrap her mind around, after so long. She’d honestly never thought she’d live long enough to even contemplate this moment. 

She turned to the man next to her, busily working on a PADD, no doubt adding Tananka into the Engineering schedule. If it hadn’t been for him, she wouldn’t have survived to see home. Feeling her eyes on him, Chakotay turned and gave her a quick grin. She returned his smile and, without warning, her breath caught and the magnitude of what he’d just done - the future he - for her; for Voyager, washed over her like a tidal wave.

She reached for his arm, suddenly needing that connection. He quickly turned concerned eyes to her and silently questioned her as she opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She struggled to find words that would seem adequate. He turned further to her, no doubt reacting to the sight of her likely floundering like a fish out of water. She shook her head, trying to tell him she was alright. When she finally found her voice, the words she said surprised them both.

“I love you.”

She clamped her hand over her mouth. That’s not what she wanted to say. At least not here. On the bridge. In the middle of a shift. But she’d said it. Oh God, she’d said it. Everything the last few days had thrown at them had been leading up to this moment. But, here? Now? And Chakotay was just staring at her like she’d grown an extra head. Why wasn’t he saying anything?

Chakotay had been watching Kathryn with growing concern. But, when the words came out of her mouth, he wasn’t sure he’d heard her correctly. Then, as she reacted, he realized with utter certainty that he _had_ heard her correctly. He reached and gently pulled her hand from her mouth and held it between his. “Kathryn …”

“Oh, will you just kiss, already?” Tom Paris spoke up from the helm. He looked up at the viewscreen, then back down to his controls, focusing his attention everywhere but the tableau behind him. But, he did have ears. And he’d been listening for the last seven years. “I really don’t think anyone would mind.” He turned in his chair, to face the rest of the bridge. “Anyone?” Silence was his answer.

“See, no one minds.” He looked at his commanding officers, specifically Chakotay. “After what you just did, from the future, if you don’t kiss her, I will. Then B’Elanna will be mad, and no one wants to deal with a pissed-off Klingon who just gave birth, least of all me.” 

He spun back around in his chair to tap in another flight command. “So kiss her, already, and we’ll all pretend that we’re not internally jumping for joy.”

Kathryn regarded her helmsman with a bemused look. “Is that an order, Lieutenant Paris?”

Literally, every person on the bridge responded: “Yes!”

Chakotay gave her a humored look. “And now I have performance anxiety.”

Kathryn stood. “Shut-up,” she said as she pulled him against her, and into a kiss that had been a very long time coming.


	12. Home

_She stepped through the deep-wooded area and into a clearing, near a river. It was beautiful, but not the usual location where she met her guide. Speaking of, where was he? She turned to look and took in more of the setting. It was warm, but there was a brisk, comfortable breeze. The sky was a deep azure and puffy clouds slid gently across its surface. On the whole, it was a beautiful place._

_“Hey, kid! Where ya been?”_

_She turned at the familiar voice and smirked. “I’ve been busy. Going back in time and …”_

_“Savin’ your mom?” the meerkat finished as he ambled up to her, then stood on his hind legs. “So, didja?”_

_“What?”_

_“Save ‘er?” He looked up at her with a curious expression._

_“I did. Well,” she corrected, “we did. Dad and I. But Dad… he… well, he--”_

_“He’s in the spirit world, is he?” her guide assumed._

_She nodded as she looked around, again. “He is. Where are we, Minot?”_

_The animal shrugged. “I thought you knew this place?” He dropped to all fours and crawled around. “Don’t look familiar to me. It’s not my desert.”_

_“No, it isn’t.” She stepped further into the clearing, near the river, then stopped when she heard rustling. “Shh, you hear that?” She moved closer to the sound and stopped short when she saw two figures huddled over a section of dirt, at the river’s edge. “Minot!” she whispered, loud enough for her meerkat to hear. “Look! It’s my parents.” It took all she had not to rush to the older couple._

_Tananka crouched, and watched, as they focused on their task. “What are they doing?”_

_“Ya got me, kid.” Minot stood upright, with his front paw on his mentee’s shoulder, as they watched the scene before them._

_It wasn’t long before the pair stood, together. Tananka smiled as they moved close, arm in arm, heads bowed together, and admired their handiwork. Then, without giving notice to their audience, walked down the riverbank and faded into the fog._

_Her curiosity got the better of her and Tananka moved to see what it was they’d been doing. She approached the clearing and saw they’d drawn something in the sandy ground. Tananka crouched and, just above the symbol they’d made, traced it with her finger. She looked around for Minot, but he’d gone. With a smile, Tananka stood and willed the vision to end._

When she awoke from her vision quest, Tananka was slightly disoriented. She took in two deep, cleansing breaths and set her akoonah down amongst the items in her meditation bundle. She stood, stretched, and then walked to the replicator to order a hot chamomile tea. 

She settled back onto the floor and drew the design her parents had left on the PADD she had on the table. Tananka looked up when the chime on her door rang. She took a careful sip of the hot beverage and called for her visitor to enter. The door slid open to reveal the Commander. Tananka smiled and started to stand, but he shook his head, so she stayed. “Hi. Come in.”

He stepped to her, carrying a medicine bundle. He crouched. “Your, uh, father, wanted you to have this,” he said as he handed the item to her.

Tananka buried her nose into her father’s pack. The fur wrap still held his scent and she inhaled deeply. She looked back at the younger man. “Thank you.” She hugged the precious item close. “Please, sit.”

“I’ve interrupted you,” Chakotay said, “I can come back later.”

“No, it’s okay,” she told him, and set her father’s bundle down next to her. “I’ve just finished.” She gestured to her cup. “Would you like some tea?”

“I can get it.” He stood and moved to her replicator. “How are you getting along in Engineering?”

“It’s all starting to come back to me,” she chuckled. “I just have to relearn the hierarchy. I’ve been on my own for so long. But, in one shift, I haven’t been on report, yet.” She smirked. “So, it’s going great!” Chakotay laughed as he walked back and sat on the floor, next to her.

Tananka watched as he sat and glanced at his forehead. “Can I ask you something?” 

“Sure,” he replied.

She slid the PADD she’d been drawing on, when he rang her door chime, to him. “Do you know this symbol?”

He took the tablet and regarded the drawing. “It’s a symbol our tribe used to signify motherhood and the journey of life.” He explained as he traced over the lines with his finger. “The hollow, outer circle is the unbroken, or eternal life, and the solid, smaller circle in the center signifies the womb. The lines that emanate from the small, black circle in a maze-like pattern represent the umbilical cord.” He handed the PADD back to her. “The maze is a life’s journey under the eternal, watchful eye of a mother.”

She sat back. “That’s what they were drawing.”

“Who?” Chakotay asked, confused.

“My parents,” she answered, “in my vision.” Her eyes again drifted to Chakotay’s forehead. “You took your tattoo to honor your father.”

“I did, yes. When I finally embraced our tribe’s ways,” he explained, “and joined the Maquis, to fight for our continued existence and to avenge those who’d perished.”

“Including my grandmother and grandfather. Dad told me the stories.” She reached to her own, unmarked, forehead and traced her fingers across her skin. “I’d like to take the mark. To honor my father and the sacrifices he made.” She pointed to the new symbol she’d received in her vision,” and I want to add this, to honor my mother.” She pointed to the half-circle at Chakotay’s temple. “Here, I think. I would add the new part.”

She sat for a nervous moment, wondering how he’d feel, when Chakotay smiled warmly and reached for her hands. “I’m … your father would be honored. Your mother would be, as well.”

“Can we do it soon, since we’ll be at DS9 the day after tomorrow?” Tananka asked him. “Do you have any traditional holodeck programs? One with a tribal elder? We could let him use some of the Doc’s tools, so it would be permanent.”

Chakotay nodded. “I’ll see what I can do and reserve the holodeck time.”

He started to stand when Tananka stopped him. “I’d like the Captain, er, Kathryn,” she grinned. “I have no idea what to call you both. Can’t really call you Dad and Mom, it’s a bit awkward.”

He laughed. “I think Chakotay and Kathryn would do.” Then he pointed: “When you’re off-duty, Ensign.”

She smiled. “I want Kathryn to be there, too.”

“I’ll let her know.” He moved to stand, again, when her hold tightened on him.

“Speaking of, I heard about what happened on the bridge, this afternoon.” Her smile widened. “Wish I’d been there.”

Chakotay smiled and lowered his head, almost as if he here embarrassed. He then gave her a serious look. “Are you okay with that?”

Her eyebrow raised. “Why wouldn’t I be? You’re my parents.” Her countenance turned serious and she took his hand. She felt her throat threaten to close and shut her eyes, briefly. “My father came back in time and sacrificed his life so that you two could live and love each other. Am I okay with that?” She sniffed and quickly wiped away excess wetness from her eyes. “I am more than okay with that. I want it so much for the two of you because, for my entire life, I’ve wanted it for my father.” She reached and traced the familiar lines of Chakotay’s tattoo. “And, now, he can have that. You can have that.”

She took a deep breath and turned to look through the items in her fur-lined bundle, and found what she was looking for. She picked up the chain, opened it and slid the simple gold ring off into her palm. She held it to Chakotay. “Here. Take this.”

He shook his head. “Tananka, your father wanted you to keep that. It’s your mother’s ring.”

With a sight eye-roll, she tipped it into his hand. “So give it to her, dummy.”

After a moment of thought, Chakotay nodded. “I will.” He reached and pulled Tananka into a tight, warm hug. “I will do just that.” 

She relaxed into it and then pulled away from the familiarity of the hug. “So, my tattoo,” she reminded him, before they got any more sidetracked.

“Yes,” Chakotay straightened, “I’ll go arrange the holodeck and talk to Kathryn.” He stood. “I’ll let you know when.” 

She followed him to the door. “Thank you.” When the door closed behind him, Tananka turned and went to fold up her meditation bundle. She picked up her father’s, and placed them both on the table, near her bedroom.

She replicated herself some mushroom soup and moved to sit on the couch, thinking about how she wanted her tattoo to look, and the changes she wanted to make that would honor both of her parents.

=^=

After his shift, the following day, Chakotay stopped by his quarters and changed into something comfortable, for Tananka’s ceremony early that evening. He’d gotten the holodeck arranged and programmed; he had spoken to the Doctor, and arranged for him to take on the guise of the healer who would apply the tattoo. He, himself, would act as the elder who would perform the ceremony, to the best that he could remember. 

Now changed into simple grey pants and a light, white shirt, Chakotay stopped in front of Kathryn’s quarters and pressed the chime. When the doors slid open, he stepped inside. She walked from her bedroom, wearing pants and a red cotton pullover shirt. “You look comfortable,” he told her with a smile.

“Just comfortable?” she asked with a slight lift to her brow. “Here I thought I did better than that.”

He smiled. “Beautiful.” He leaned a pressed a quick kiss on her lips. “You look beautiful. Is that the compliment you were fishing for?”

“It was,” she laughed. She took a deep breath and sighed. “I still can’t believe we’ll be having dinner at Deep Space Nine, by this time tomorrow.”

He nodded with a smile, then thinned his lips. “I just hope Starfleet doesn’t decide to arrest us.” He clarified: “The Maquis.”

She wrapped her arms around him. “You know I won’t let that happen, right? I’ll turn this damned ship around and go right back to the Delta Quadrant, if they try it.”

“What about us?” he asked her. “They could claim favoritism.”

“Chakotay,” she assured, “there’s not a soul on this ship who would believe that. As soon as I can, I will speak to Owen Paris. If we need anyone to back us up, he’ll be the one to do it.” She smiled. “And my mother still has a hell of a lot of pull.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Chakotay, I love you. We’ve been through a hell of a lot in the last seven years. No stuffy Admiral is going to stop me from spending the rest of my life with you, now that I have a rest of my life.”

Chakotay gave her a smile and cupped her face within his hands. “Kathryn. Marry me. Tonight. After Tananka’s ceremony, let’s have a small one of our own. Just for our crew. If Starfleet or your mother insists, we can have a bigger ceremony, later. But, tonight, let’s celebrate with our family. All of them.”

She hesitated for a moment before mentally acknowledging they were so close to home. Life could change at any moment, as they’d brutally found out a scant few days ago. She realized she no longer wanted to wait. Kathryn finally nodded. “We’ll have Tuvok marry us,” she smiled. “Nothing fancy, no dress uniforms. You wear that, I’ll wear this and, after, we’ll have a welcome home celebration in the mess hall.”

“That sounds like the perfect plan,” Chakotay said with a smile. He leaned and kissed her warmly. “I love you, Kathryn Janeway.”

“I love you, too.” She returned his kiss then pulled away. “Now, let’s go to Tananka’s ceremony.”

=^=

Tananka met the two of them outside the holodeck. She waited until Chakotay entered the program into the holo-matrix and then opened the doors. The three of them stepped into a warm, red desert. “This is Trebus,” Chakotay explained to Kathryn. 

“Aunt Sekaya lives here, with her family,” Tananka said. “But, for the rest, I’m going to claim Temporal Prime Directive.” She smiled. “Dad and I visited a lot, though. Seeing his sister always improved his disposition.”

Chakotay smiled. “She was always the one who could calm me down after a fight with our father.”

The trio stepped deeper into the holodeck, until they finally came upon a ceremonial building, and walked inside. Smoke was billowing from a central fire pit, and several men and women were seated in clumps around it, chanting. Chakotay moved them closer to a section of the group of people that was left open. He gestured to the two women to sit, and he sat himself next to Tananka.

Once the chant was completed, Chakotay raised his arms and spoke of the intent of their prayer circle. He spoke of the elder man who had saved their lives and introduced Tananka as the man’s daughter. He leaned closer and told her quietly: “If you wish to eulogize your father, now is the time to do it.”

Tananka nodded. She hadn’t expected to memorialize her father but, the more she thought about it, the more she needed to. “My father.” She lowered her head briefly, then raised it proudly. “My father was a man with conviction. He was a man with honor and a deep well of love.” She blinked away tears. “He wasn’t the perfect father, but his heart was in a lot of pain, and it was difficult for him to get past the hurt to show others, um, me, how much he cared.” Tananka’s breath hitched, as tears now rolled freely down her cheeks. “But, he did care. I know he did. It just took me a while to understand that. I wasn’t the best teenager.”

She laughed lightly. “I went through a rebellious stage. Nearly got kicked out of the Academy, because I stole a shuttle with the intention of never coming back.” She wiped her eyes, “Fortunately, I had a half-Klingon aunt who literally kicked my ass and set me straight.” She turned to Kathryn. “My Grandmother, Gretchen, also gave me a stern talking to, and Aunt Phoebe, well, she dragged me home to my father and,” Tananka wrapped her arms around her knees, lowered her head and started sobbing. When she could speak again, she continued: “I saw the fresh pain in my Daddy’s eyes and I knew that I had put it there.”

She took a deep breath and blew it out. “Both Phoebe and B’Elanna stayed with us, for several days, and insisted that we see a counselor.” She shook her head. “I don’t think it really did Dad any good, but, just having someone explain to me why my father couldn’t express how he felt, but that he did feel, was exactly what I needed to hear. I realized, then, that he needed me as much as I needed him. I never tried to leave again.” 

She closed her eyes to fresh tears. “I miss him. But, I know that he is now with my mother and that he is finally happy. And, more than anything, I always wanted him to be happy.”

Tananka took Chakotay’s hand, and Kathryn’s hand, and held them together in her own hands. She glanced at each of them, on either side of her. “If this is what you want, promise me you’ll be happy together.”

“Tananka,” Kathryn said, “it is absolutely what we want.” Her eyes met Chakotay’s. “Of that, there is no doubt.” She returned her focus to the young, tearstained face between them. “In fact, we plan to marry after your ceremony.”

Tananka looked between the two of them. “Really?”

Chakotay nodded. “Yes, really.”

Tananka hugged them both and then said, through happy tears she wiped away from her cheeks: “Then let’s stop babbling and get on with it.”

As they continued with the tribal marking ceremony, Chakotay intoned the words he remembered the elders speaking when he took his mark. He stepped aside as the Doctor, in the guise of the village artist, used a Dermal Imager to permanently etch the tattoo design that Tananka gave him; the same design, on her left brow, as her father’s, but with the circular mother-symbol at the temple, in place of the half-circle of the original design.

Once that was completed, Chakotay closed the ceremony and gave Tananka a few moments alone in the village, before ending the program and walking the two women to the mess hall.

=^=

The Mess Hall was bustling with laughter and cheers. The food and the Synthehol were flowing freely. Voyager’s crew was together, celebrating life, futures; the journey and the journey’s end. Weddings, memorials, and even baby announcements took place. This was a celebration to end all celebrations and, more than once, it was mentioned that Neelix would be sorry he missed this one.

The most important wedding was just nearing its inevitable conclusion. Tuvok proudly (as proudly as a Vulcan could be) pronounced: “By the traditions of your tribe, and the laws of the United Federation of Planets, I now pronounce you, Commander Chakotay, and you Captain Kathryn Janeway, husband and wife. You may kiss your bride, Commander.”

Chakotay smiled at his new wife and leaned in to press a kiss, first on her forehead, then he wrapped his hand gently around her head, tilted her chin upwards, and captured her lips in a deep and slow kiss.

Cheers, applause, and catcalls of “it’s about time!” swept the room as their command team finally gave in to their long-simmering passion.

 

Tananka sat at a table and watched the crew happily partying. She held baby Miral, and spoke as she watched Tom and B’Elanna talk to the newly-married Chakotay and Kathryn. “I wish you, well you are here, but I wish you were here. I miss you, Mir.” She held the baby up. “But, your dad is alive. And that’s a good thing. My mother is alive, too.” She pressed a kiss on the baby’s lightly-ridged brow. “You will have an amazing life, Mir. I’ll just have a different part in it.” 

It wasn’t long before B’Elanna came and took the baby. “Go, celebrate.”

Tananka started to move away, but she stopped. “Aunt B’Elanna. I know it will be lost on you, but thank you. I wouldn’t be half the person I am today if it wasn’t for you. You raised me, you took care of me when Dad couldn’t; you taught me everything you knew about starship engines.” She laughed. “You got me through a lot of classes at the Academy, and kicked my ass when I tried to run away.” She turned serious. “I appreciate all that you did, even though it won’t happen, now.”

“Someday, you’ll have to tell me.” B’Elanna smiled gently and lay a hand on the young woman’s arm. “I look forward to getting to know you better, Tananka.”

Tananka smiled. “Me, too.”

=^=

Later that evening, as she stood, watching her crew enjoy themselves, Kathryn yawned behind her hand. They’d just been through a long, tumultuous few days and she was honestly, and suddenly, exhausted. It was as if the weight of the entire seven years just crashed down onto her shoulders, at once. It was her wedding night, dammit, and all she wanted to do was go to bed and sleep for the next seven years.

Chakotay moved to her side and lay his hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?” he asked, concern in his voice.

She nodded. “I think the lack of sleep after all these years just caught up with me.”

He smiled. “Then let’s go back to your ... my ... our quarters and sleep,” he kissed the top of her head. “Because, starting tomorrow, and through the next however long it’s going to be, courtesy of Starfleet, neither of us will be getting a lot of it.”

He lowered and whispered: “I’d rather get a good night’s sleep, with you in my arms, than be awake all night and then be miserably exhausted through the debriefings.” He smiled and pressed a light kiss to the tip of her nose. “We have all the time in the world, now, wife of mine. Let’s go to sleep. Tomorrow will be a big day.”

As much as she hated to agree with him, he was right. She kissed him once more, and then moved from his arms, so she could say goodnight to her crew, who were still having well-deserved fun. 

Tananka watched Kathryn and Chakotay leave and smiled. She whispered into the air: “You did it, Daddy. We’ll be home tomorrow.” She stood and left the party while it was still in full swing.

=^=

The atmosphere on the bridge was that of excited trepidation. They were close enough to the Bajoran Wormhole, now, to be able to see it on the main viewer.

“Now, that is a beautiful sight,” Tom said from his place at the helm. “We should be there in a few minutes.” 

Kathryn smiled at Chakotay before turning back to the main viewer. She was excited, nervous, terrified, and giddy, all at the same time. With her left thumb, she nervously fiddled with the slender gold ring on her third finger. They’d had a discussion, that morning, about whether or not to wear their wedding rings until after the debriefings, but, when Chakotay had reminded her of what the elder man said about wearing his after his Kathryn died, she’d agreed that they would not hide the fact that they were married. Starfleet would just have to live with it.

“Tuvok, open a shipwide channel please.” Kathryn stood. “Attention all hands, we are just a few moments out from Deep Space Nine and I wanted to let you know that I could not have asked for a better crew to have spent the last seven years with. We’ve become a family and I want you all to know that that will never change. Should you need anything; advice, help resettling, a place to stay, you are always welcome to message either Commander Chakotay or me. No matter where our lives take us, from this point, we will always be there for you, and we will always be there for each other. Tom Paris has agreed to be a contact hub for us. As soon as you get settled, please give him your information. And for our Maquis crew, I promise you, I will work closely with Starfleet to see that you are exonerated and given full pardons. If not, there will be Hell to pay, I assure you. But, for now, we are entering the wormhole in one minute. Welcome home, everyone. Janeway out.”

Her peace said, Kathryn sat and reached across to take Chakotay’s hand. “This is it. Tom, take us in.” 

The ride through this wormhole was much smoother and within five minutes, Voyager exited the event horizon in the Alpha Quadrant. In front of her, Kathryn slowly stood, was the most beautiful sight, other than Earth, that she could have seen: Deep Space Nine. 

“Captain, we are being hailed,” Tuvok spoke up.

“On screen,” Kathryn said, in a voice that was somewhere between a laugh and a cry.

“This is Colonel Kira Nerys. Am I seeing what I think I’m seeing?” The tall slender woman stood with a confused look on her face.

“This is Captain Kathryn Janeway, USS Voyager, and yes, you are. Contrary to popular belief, we are not missing, nor are we dead. We just … took the long way home through the Delta Quadrant. May we have permission to dock?”

“The Delta Quadrant? And absolutely.” Kira glanced at her data and then told Kathryn: “Dock on Pylon Three.”

“And can you contact Starfleet for us?”

“Already have and, Voyager ... welcome home.”

Once the comms channel was closed, and Voyager was safely docked, the bridge erupted into cheers and hugs.

They were home. Thanks to the future Chakotay, they had gotten there, just as he promised. She was alive and, presumably, the timeline that Braxton had sabotaged had now been corrected. 

Kathryn turned and with an excited laugh, pulled her husband in for a deep, congratulatory kiss. “After I speak with Starfleet, you and I have a wedding night to attend to.”


	13. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is finally it. Thank you to everyone who followed along with me on this journey. It's been so much fun sharing this story with you.

San Francisco, California 2402

The hustle and bustle of the cliffside restaurant, during its’ lunch period, was adding to the mood of the man who sat at the bar, nursing a drink. His face was weathered with age, the dark blue lines across his left brow no longer as vibrant as they once were. He reached up and ran a hand through the silver-white hair, pushing it away from his eyes.

He could hear the familiar, throaty laugh coming from the pool table at the back of the room, and smiled. Chakotay took another drink as a woman joined him. She ran her arm across his shoulders and took the glass from his hand. “I don’t know how you can drink this,” She grumbled to him as he chuckled.

He leaned and pointed to her half-full glass of beer. “I don’t know how you can drink that, Commander, so we’re even.”

She turned and faced the group huddled around the pool table. “Commander. Still seems odd.”

Chakotay turned to face her, “Why? You’re a damned good engineer, Nan. I think the Watson is lucky to have you as their new chief.”

Tananka took a generous swig from her glass. “Who knew I’d actually have a career in Starfleet, and that I’d enjoy it.”

“Do you miss being on your own?” Chakotay asked her.

Tananka looked at him and smiled. “Sometimes I do, Dad.” She took another drink. “I miss the adventure.”

“When do you ship out?”

“Watson is in drydock for another month, at least.” Refitting the ship, after it’s return from a previous deep space mission, was taking longer than expected. “I’m honestly considering a transfer request. I’m bored and I’d much rather deal with a more familiar engine.”

“What do you mean?”

She grinned. “There’s a rumor going through the grapevine that Voyager-B needs a Chief Engineer.”

Chakotay smiled broadly. “Your mother would be thrilled to have you back in the family.”

An indignant yell, and laughter, suddenly sounded from the direction of the pool table.

“Hrm, speaking of Mom,” Tananka snorted, “I think we should go rescue Captain Paris from the Admiral’s wrath, so he can approve my transfer.”

Chakotay laughed as the two of them walked to the recreation area at the back of the restaurant. As they approached the pool table, he stepped behind his wife and wrapped his arms around her. He bent and whispered in her ear: “You wanna go home and fool around, Captain?”

Kathryn grinned and turned her head to press a kiss on his cheek. “Always, Commander.” She turned in his embrace and captured his lips in a warm kiss, full of promise. “But, first, I have to kick Tom’s ass.”

Tananka groaned, grabbed the cue stick out of her mother’s hand, and waved them away. “Go. Get a room, or something. I’ll finish your game.”

Kathryn gave in without a fight. “Okay, but make sure you get your sister home,” she told Tananka, after glancing at the table that her other daughter, Roisin, occupied with Miral Paris and Jacen Dalby. 

Tananka saluted. “Aye, Admiral.” She smiled as her parents walked away, arm in arm, then turned to the table and spoke to the man who stood, waiting, with a patient grin. “Okay, Uncle Tom. If you win, you’ve got a Chief Engineer.” She smirked. “If you’ll have me.”

“Are you kidding?” Tom said with a wide smile. “I’ll approve your transfer, now.”

 

The man sat in a corner table, sipping a drink, as the fruits of his efforts played out. He’d been watching to make sure there was no critical fallout from the deletion of the previous timeline. Before he’d given the Captain his plan, he’d carefully gone over each and every change that would be made. He had also taken into account the daughter staying behind. He checked his scan results and smiled: It worked. Everything was now back to the way it was originally supposed to have gone, had his own former commanding officer not let a personal grudge overtake his priorities. His work here now finished, the man tapped the combadge on his chest, “Ducane to Relativity. One to beam up. This mission is complete.”

With that request, Captain Juel Ducane of the USS Relativity faded into his transporter beam.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Katesfire has written a wonderful story inspired by Times! You can read it here: [In The Space Of A Breath](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18481963)


End file.
